In this dark dystopian tale, 17-year-old Hawk is growing up hard and fast in post-apocalyptic New York City—until a perilous destiny forces her to take flight and protect her home. Where is Maximum Ride? Ten years ago a girl with wings fought to save the world. But then she disappeared. Now she's just a fading legend, remembered only in stories. Hawk doesn't know her real name. She doesn't know who her family was, or where they went. The only thing she remembers is that she was told to wait on a specific street corner, at a specific time, until her parents came back for her. She stays under the radar to survive . . . until a destiny that is perilously close to Maximum Ride's forces her to take flight. Someone is coming for her. But it's not a rescue mission. It's an execution.
Hawk, the daughter of Maximum Ride, teams up with her mother to help save their beloved but dangerous city in this action-packed thriller. For Hawk, being a hero weighs heavily on her wings. In the City of the Dead, life happens in the shadows. That's why a war is brewing against an enemy no one can see. Hawk and Maximum Ride never back down from a conflict, or from each other, and they argue more than they agree. But as the dead begin to outnumber the living, a mother's experience and a daughter's instinct can make for one powerful arsenal.