Born into poverty in an age of heroes and kings, a future as a courtesan is the best Eka expects in the Maghada Empire. Initiation into the service of the snake goddess gives her a fleeting glimpse of power - until the king discovers Eka's talent for poisons, and demands her services as a vish kanya, or poison girl. Eka and her childhood companion Ira are told the venom they've imbibed makes them lethal to touch, and they grow up as feared members of court - able to touch only each other. And when a young invader sweeps towards their empire in India, Eka and Ira are chosen to infiltrate Alexander the Great's army. In Alexander's court Eka must play a dangerous political game, all while her feelings for Ira unfurl. Raised to do the bidding of one king, and confronted with the power and destruction of another, the fate of a world will rest on the choice she makes.