Our country has turned its back on inclusion: the descendants of immigrants have been denied status and security and must sell their children to a travelling circus-to perform at the mercy of ravenous lions, sabotaged high wires and a demonic ringmaster. The ruling class-the Pures-visit the circus as an escape from their structured, safe, high-achieving lives-to experience pure entertainment with a brutal, bloodthirsty edge. Ben, the teenage son of a draconian government minister, attends on opening night and falls under the spell of Hoshiko, a tightrope walker and the star attraction. But as he steps beyond the sparkle and spectacle of the circus, to reveal the horrors that lurk beneath, can he find the courage to resist, to rebel, to help end the cruelty and the carnage?