The Pressure Waltz

About this book

In the sub-aquatic steampunk metropolis of Brassdown, air is the ultimate currency, metered by corrupt Barons and rationed to the working class. Mara Vance, a skilled valvewright with the unique ability to 'hear' structural weaknesses in the city's brass skeleton, works tirelessly to keep the ocean at bay. When a series of sabotage attempts threaten the city's integrity, her father is wrongly framed, forcing Mara into an unlikely alliance with Ashwin Hale, a meticulous insurance emissary from the surface sent to audit the city's safety. Ashwin, haunted by a past failure, is determined to condemn the city if he finds fault, but he needs Mara's expertise to navigate the treacherous maintenance tunnels. As they race against time to uncover the true saboteur before the prestigious Founders' Gala—where the city's pressure load will be at its peak—their professional friction turns into a simmering attraction. Trapped in decompression chambers and navigating the intricate social hierarchy of the deep, Mara and Ashwin must rely on each other to save Brassdown from imploding, discovering that the most dangerous pressure isn't the ocean outside, but the secrets held within the city's elite.