Taj lives in a junkheap, scavenging scrap to keep his family fed and dodging the monsters who live among the wreckage. His only edge is a smart-ass construct named Star he built himself. Taj dreams of winning big with Star in the construct fighting circuits, but victory always seems just beyond his reach and the debt collectors are at the door.

His world changes forever when someone there makes him an offer that seems too good to be true: a chance to fight in the Ascent, the ultimate fighting tournament, for a prize beyond his wildest fantasies. But things that seem too good to be true usually are, and Taj finds his new benefactor comes with plenty of new enemies. As he ventures beyond the only world he's ever known, he discovers it's not just his money on the line in the Ascent - it's his life.

When you start at the very bottom, the only way out is up...