He swore to paint the truth. Now he is living a lie. For the Noxxiin people, tattoos define identity: they commemorate birth, ancestry, accomplishments—even crimes. As a tattoo artist living on an ancient generation ship, Mariikel Serix has sworn to record the truth. So when he becomes an unwilling accomplice in the banishment of an innocent man, he is horrified that he has broken his oath—and his eyes are opened to the misery of the Underbelly, the realm of the outcasts.
Mary Jessica Woods is a Byzantine Catholic writer and editor who was raised near Chicago, Illinois. She is a graduate of Wyoming Catholic College, and her writing has appeared in America Magazine, Catholic World Report, and First Things. She also serves on the editorial team for the literary magazine Dappled Things. In her mind, she spends most of her time on distant planets or alien spaceships, but she actually lives in rural Michigan.
