A mistreated witch creates upheaval in the Last Bastion, taking the remainder of humanity to the edge of extinction.

In the last stronghold of humanity, divided by resource scarcity and ruled by Clans, witches are despised and exploited for their abilities. Seeking safety, Itelle, a camouflaged Wishwitch, joins the Apis Clan with her partner. The Official, Lanre, closely observes her when she works in the Bar of Dreams. When her partner betrays and endangers her, Itelle leaves the Clan.

To avoid her old mentor, Ranhi, brewing a rebellion in the Smokehouse, Itelle moves into the Sewers. As the anti-witch sentiments in the city grow stronger, she befriends Sal, a drug dealer, and his defiant sister, Losija. A forbidden affair with Lanre, who reveals he is a Seer, ends abruptly when he disappears.

Itelle throws herself into work, enraging her magic, and Sal's help leads her towards addiction. Dalla Kabita, an open-minded bionics doctor, rescues Itelle from a narcotic crush. Itelle becomes involved with a newcomer Perr, convinced by his pure wishes to make witches respected again and love Itelle forever. Itelle reverses her abilities on her affluent customers - they donate funds to Perr's Ingenii Clan, then commit suicide.

Last Bastion plunges into chaos. Amid a brutal witch hunt, Perr and Ranhi hand over Losija for execution. Itelle leads the Ingenii Clan to safety. The surviving witches gain the respect they deserve and Sal revenges his sister. However, Itelle discovers she has been a pawn in Perr's manipulative game.

Perr is going to annihilate her city. Does Itelle wish to save it?

The world:
Following a global catastrophe, the Last Bastion is considered the final stronghold of humanity. This city, built on the foundations of a fallen metropolis, is akin to a house of cards, with levels and connected by bridges. Yet, the four casts inhabiting the Last Bastion are very different.

The Smokehouse is located on the top of the city. Fry People, who live there, are subjected to radiation, and the majority miss body parts, amputated to stop the spread of cancers.
The Garden District is nestled in the middle, avoiding the most adverse effects. It houses healthy members of five wealthy Clans - Apis, Testudo, Pavo, Noctua and Leo.
The Sewers, the lowest level, hangs just above the toxic wasteland and Poison River. It is occupied by Carcass people, who are subjected to toxic fumes. Carcass tend to steal body replacements off corpses to reuse them or sell them in the market called Wasterdam.

Witches are the fourth cast and inhabit all three city levels. They are despised and thought to have sold their souls for magic powers, yet unofficially their services are sought after. Witchcurse, however, is not a choice. Witches pay a high price for their abilities – the witchcurse compels them to carry out magical deeds, but these acts must be balanced against nature. Unless living energy is drawn from another source, a Healer witch would take on the illness from her patient and a Fortuneteller would lose his own sight to see the future of his client. Ecological catastrophe destroyed the natural resources witches could use to balance their magic with. Men and women affected by witchcurse face the choice of defying the Coven and sourcing energy from humans, or having the magic destroy their own bodies.