Tristan Abrascal, a cunning thief operating in Sacromonte's Murk, finds himself entangled in a dangerous web of fate after a botched robbery. His unique contract with Fortuna, the Lady of Long Odds, grants him borrowed luck, a powerful but precarious boon that manifests as a "ticking" in his mind, signaling an impending misfortune for every successful use. During a seemingly routine break-in at the Azulejo hostel, intended as a test from his mysterious mentor Abuela, Tristan accidentally kills Yaotl Cuatzo, a Watch deserter employed by the notorious Hoja Roja. This unforeseen murder instantly escalates his predicament, marking him as a target for a powerful and vengeful criminal guild. Abuela's subsequent letter, delivered posthumously by the dead man's papers, reveals the true depth of her manipulation: she orchestrated the encounter not merely as a test of skill, but as a forced entry into the Watch's perilous trials on the Dominion of Lost Things, an escape from the Hoja Roja's wrath. This pivotal event forces Tristan to abandon his life as a petty thief, his existing revenge "List" gaining new urgency as he is thrust into a world far beyond his control, where survival depends not just on his wits and luck, but on understanding the intricate, often brutal, rules of a larger game. His journey on the Bluebell begins with the ominous shadow of the Hoja Roja at his back and the unsettling knowledge that Abuela, far from being a benevolent guardian, is a master manipulator with her own hidden agenda.

Parallel to Tristan's predicament, Angharad Tredegar, a proud noblewoman and the last of her house, is introduced fleeing assassins in the corrupt city of Sacromonte. Her own powerful contract with the ancient spirit the Fisher grants her glimpses of the future, a gift she relies on to survive multiple attempts on her life. Pursued by the city guard, the Guardia, who are acting under orders from powerful infanzones, Angharad is saved by the timely intervention of Celipa, a one-armed blackcloak captain of the Watch. This rescue, orchestrated by her estranged uncle Captain Osian, also funnels her onto the Bluebell and into the Dominion trials, a path she reluctantly accepts as her only refuge. The ship becomes a microcosm of the trials, gathering a diverse and dangerous cast of characters: hardened veterans, desperate individuals, scheming nobles, and fellow contractors like Song Ren, a Tianxi with unsettling silver eyes, and Brun, a calm Sacromontan. The journey is violently interrupted by an horrific attack from a Saint—a mortal possessed by a god—which tests the mettle of all aboard and reveals the latent powers and contracts among the trial-takers. Angharad, demonstrating her formidable combat skills and unwavering honor, plays a crucial role in the defense, earning both respect and enmity, while the shipboard chaos foreshadows the even greater perils awaiting them on the Dominion of Lost Things.

Upon arriving at the Dominion, the trial-takers are met with the horrifying sight of pyres burning the corpses of the entire first wave, a stark warning of the trials' lethality. Tristan, ever the pragmatist, immediately begins to assess the new alliances forming among the survivors. His previous act of weaponizing lodestone extract against the Cerdan brothers and Tupoc Xical backfires as the targeted parties, particularly Tupoc, begin to suspect his true nature. The first leg of the Trial of Lines, a march across the plains, quickly devolves into chaos when lupine lemures attack. Augusto Cerdan's cold-blooded murder of his valet, Gascon, to save himself from the attacking lemures, serves as a brutal testament to the infanzones' self-serving nature and triggers Angharad's unwavering sense of honor. She defiantly challenges Augusto to a duel, earning the respect of some but further alienating the Cerdans. The subsequent harrowing attack by a harrowhawk, a soul-eating spirit, forces Briceida, Isabel's maid, to sacrifice herself using her contract to drive the creature away. This series of betrayals and sacrifices cements the groups' divisions, with Tristan's "leftovers" crew and Angharad's principled, though smaller, faction emerging as distinct entities, each facing the grim reality that survival on the Dominion demands ruthless choices and alliances.

Reaching the first sanctuary, the remaining trial-takers receive a chilling briefing from Lieutenant Wen and Sergeant Mandisa of the Watch, who reveal the true, insidious nature of the Trial of Ruins: a labyrinth of shrines where gods gamble for souls. This revelation shatters any lingering illusions of fair play, confirming that the Watch views the participants as expendable pawns in a larger, more arcane game. Tristan, ever the opportunist, uses his cunning to secure his place within Angharad's crew, leveraging her growing reputation and his own knowledge of poisons to prepare for the maze's challenges. He meticulously plans to weaponize the heliodoran beast against the Red Eye cultists and the infanzones, seeking to clear a path to the second bridge while settling old scores. Angharad, meanwhile, navigates the shifting political landscape, recruiting Inyoni and Zenzele to bolster her group's fighting strength, all while managing the complexities of Isabel's infatuation and the Cerdan brothers' simmering animosity. The discovery of the second bridge's collapse by the airavatan forces a strategic pivot, leading to a desperate, high-stakes plan to lure the monster into attacking the cultists guarding the eastern bridge. This phase is defined by strategic maneuvering, the forging of unexpected alliances, and the grim understanding that survival demands a ruthless pragmatism, even from those who cling to honor.