Everyone knows the Jotunheim mining colony collapsed beneath a deadly plague fifty years ago. No survivors. So, when Emory, a twice-orphaned ship's mechanic arrives in the colony, she is shocked to discover small pockets of survivors both alive and in a constant state of war with each other, and a faction of rogue EvoGenesis scientists heldover from the war. When she is accused of being an Evogen spy, and taken prisoner by the Rooks tribe, she must earn their trust, or die. Noor, the so-called speaker for the Rooks, seems preoccupied with her ability to breathe the deadly toxic air. She knows it's why he hasn't killed her yet. Can she earn his trust before he grows bored with his experiments?
Noor never wanted to be Speaker, but here he is. He bides his time while his predecessor, Malik's, legacy crumbles around him, focused solely on keeping his sister alive until she can delivery her baby. Malik's baby. So, when a mysterious outsider, Emory, crosses his path, the easy thing would be to kill her. But when have things ever been easy for Noor? Emory frustrates him, challenges him at every turn, and calls into question everything he thought he knew. Something he thought long buried stirs to life within him whenever Emory is nearby. Meanwhile, his enemies sharpen their knives, waiting for him to stumble. Will Emory be their salvation, or is she the last mistake Noor will ever make?
Foundling is a love story with a dystopian backdrop. With tropes of found family, sibling relationships, human experimentation, telepathic characters, and enemies to lovers.