'In a changed world where the sky bleeds red, winter is hotter than hell and full of sandstorms, and the summer's even hotter with raging fires that roam the desert-like country, women are forced to procreate when they turn sixteen and every three years thereafter. Fifteen-year-old Siena is a Youngling, soon to be a Bearer, when she starts hearing rumors of another tribe of all women, called the Wild Ones. They are known to kidnap Youngling girls before they are given a husband with whom to bear children. As the desert sands run out on her life's hourglass, Siena must uncover the truth about the Wild Ones while untangling the web of lies and deceit her father has masterfully spun. ' (Publisher's blurb)