The Big Wheel

After her mother and sister are captured and sold as indentured servants by mercenaries (Mercs), fifteen-year-old Paisley embarks on a quest to free them. A different world has been forged during the twelve years of isolation caused by a killer virus that forced a mandatory quarantine. While adapting to the nuances of the new world, she encounters friends and foes along the way. She discovers disturbing rules, customs, and the absence of laws and consequences of the newly formed culture. If she can free her family, she will have to make a choice to either escape back to her safe haven or join the fight. The battle for power heats up between the Mercs, only interested in profit, the powerful royals, who control the cure, the wealthy slave owners, and a small cluster attempting to reinstate democracy. Eradicating the virus is both a blessing and a curse as it sets in motion death struggles between the powerful factions. The group winning control will decide the direction of the new world. It's a battle worth fighting. Division of the people is simple: there are the Counted, who matter and are taken care of, and the Uncounted, those throwaways who do not matter. People are the main commodity, bought, sold, and traded like cattle. Any flaw labels a person as an Undesirable and marks them for death. Paisley is an Uncounted and her companions are Undesirables. How can anything they do make a difference?