Aria is a teenager in the enclosed city of Reverie- self contained city sized Pod that stands at nearly 300 years. Like all Dwellers, she spends her time with friends in virtual environments, called Realms. Realms are accessed through an eyepiece called a Smarteye. Aria enjoys the Realms and the easy life in Reverie.
As a genetically engineered child, as all are in the Pods, Aria was given the voice of a Falcon Soprano. She can sing like an angel, and every Sunday she meets her mother in the Opera Hall to sing for her. It is the one time in each week where she has her mother's undivided attention. The most recent time that her mother came to her for a song, she told her that she had to leave. Her work would take her to the Bliss Pod and she had to leave early, so she'd come hoping for one last song in person. It was to be the last time she would see her mother. Aria's mom is an important scientist in Reverie. Her work is on DLS or Degenerative Limbic System. DLS removes inhibitions, causing the sufferer to confuse pain with pleasure and anger with happiness. It causes reckless behavioral breakdowns.
When radio contact with Bliss is lost, Aria tries to get information from Consul Hess's son Soren, but Soren is suffering from a condition that is affecting an increasing number of people in the Pods, DLS. M
They plan on sneaking into a non-functioning section of Reverie by disabling the security and their Smarteyes. Once they get there, Soren, Bane, and Echo seem to lose themselves and have a hard time distinguishing the real from the not-real. They start a fire which soon gets out of control. Aria tries to reactivate her Smarteye and get help but is only able to make it record what is happening. When Aria and Paisley try to escape, they are attacked by the boys. Suddenly a savage appears on the scene. He fights off the boys and carries a barely conscious Aria to safety, and then disappears with Aria's Smarteye with him. Only Aria and Soren survive the escapade. The stranger was Perry. He was attempting to sneak into the pods to steal medication for his nephew, Talon, who is sick. Perry is at odds with his brother Vale over how the Tides are being led. He does not think that Vale is doing enough to protect and provide for the tribe. But, because Perry loves his nephew so much, he does not outwardly challenge his brother. Back in Reverie, Aria is questioned about the events leading up to the fire. Without her Smarteye, she has no proof that Soren was responsible. Soren's father assures her that all will be investigated and that he is sending her to Bliss to be with her mother. But, he is secretly trying to protect his son and cover up the incident. Aria is put into a hover in what she thinks is a trip to Bliss. Instead, she is dumped out into the outside, left to fend for herself. Meanwhile, the guards who dumped Aria come upon Perry and Talon while they are out hunting. They abduct Talon and fly away with him. Perry is left thinking that they took Talon in retribution for him taking the Smarteye which is currently useless. When Vale learns about this, he and Perry fight but in the end, Perry runs away. He vows to himself that he will get Talon back on his own.
When Aria is forced out of the pod for a crime she did not commit, she believes her death is imminent. The outside world is known as The Death Shop, with danger in every direction. As an Outsider, Perry has always known hunger, vicious predators, and violent energy storms from the swirling electrified atmosphere called the Aether. A bit of an outcast even among his hunting tribe, Perry withstands these daily tests with his exceptional abilities. He is gifted with powerful senses that enable him to scent danger, food and even human emotions. He is also gifted with incredible sight that allows him to see both at day and at night. In conclusion, Perry is a Seer and a Scire.
Aria and Perry meet up again in the outer world. They come together reluctantly, for Aria must depend on Perry, whom she considers a barbarian, to help her get back to Reverie, while Perry needs Aria to help unravel the mystery of his beloved nephew’s abduction by the Dwellers. They will travel to Delphi and ask Marron to repair the Smarteye. Then they will go back to Reverie where Aria will have proof of Soren's crimes and Perry will be able to rescue Talon. Together they embark on a journey challenged by encounters with members of the Croven, a cannibal tribe and wolves They continue traveling toward Delphi, meeting Roar along the way. Roar has news of Perry's sister, Liv. She was recently betrothed to another tribal Blood Lord by Vale. The arrangement was that she would marry the rival Blood Lord in exchange for food supplies for the Tides. Half of the supplies were sent, but Liv ran away without completing her end of the bargain. Roar, has been searching the outer lands for Liv. He agrees to travel with Perry and Aria. Along the way, they meet young wild Cinder in the forest. They soon learned that he has some special power connected to the Aether and can ignite and burn things at will. Perry tries to send Cinder away by scaring him off with an arrow but Cinder conducts that aether through him and burns Perry's hand badly. The Croven pick this time to attack. Perry refuses to leave Cinder so they carry him as they race towards Delphi. When they hit the woods near it, Perry turns to face the Croven, Roar staying with them and Aria and Cinder run into Delphi. At Delphi, they are all healed from their wounds and Cinder fleas into the woods. Marron begins works on Aria's Smarteye and Roar teaches Aria how to use a knife. One time, Aria was training with herself. Perry decided to join her, but to their surprise, Aria and Perry forge an unlikely love - one that will forever change the fate of all who live Under the Never Sky.
When the work is completed on the Smarteye, they watched Lumina’s message telling how Aria is half Outsider and that they have been testing on Outsider children for research. Though Aria is blocked and unable to connect with her mother, Bliss, or Reverie, Perry can sneak into the Realms.
Aria and Marron guide Perry through the Realms via her Smarteye. There, he makes contact with Talon who says that his father Vale comes to see him. Talon also reports that he is being treated well and likes it there. He also tells Perry that his father, Vale, is with him in Reverie. Soon, Aria, Perry, and Roar attempt to leave Delphi. The Croven have them surrounded they are forced to return to Delphi.
Perry is about to be shot when Cinder appears and uses his aether to kill almost every Croven there. Aria and Perry take Cinder and Roar back to Delphi and start out on their own towards Bliss, where Aria's mother is.
Aria begins to develop acute hearing, becoming and Aud and Perry opens up more about his ability to scent tempers. They sleep together and try to spend these last six days together because they both know they have to part for different reasons. At Bliss, Aria sneaks into the compound and finds her mother through her colleague Doctor Ward. He brought her to a small, bare room with an airlock door. Aria already sensed her mother’s condition before Ward brought her there because she had heard it in his voice. Lumina has died in the outbreak of DLS when she and Ward were separated by the storm. She is soon discovered and captured. Grief stricken by her leaving, Perry wanders around and finds a group of six men who pledge themselves to him. He sets out to return to the the Tides Tribe and claim Blood Lord since Vale is already in Reverie. Meanwhile, Aria wakes up and confronts Consul Hess who tells her that the Dwellers won’t last much longer with the worsening Aether storms. He will not allow her to return to Reverie and threatens her with this - unless she agrees to go to the outside and find information about the aether-free area known as The Still Blue, they will harm Talon and Perry. She agrees. Perry leaves Aria behind at Bliss, not knowing what has thappened inside or that her mother is really dead. He is very despondent over parting from her. In the forest, he comes across a band of men and end up in a brawl. One of the men, a Scire named Braids, admires Perry for not forcing him to pledge his allegiance after winning the fight. The band of men decide to follow Perry back to the Tides and serve him there.
When they reach the Tides, Perry is surprised to discover Vale is still there and acting as Blood Lord. He figures out that Vale set up Talon's abduction, much in the same way that he "sold" their sister, doing what he thought was for the good of the tribe and that he wanted Perry killed by the Reverie guards. Perry finally challenges Vale as Blood Lord and kills him, taking over the tribe. The people of the tribe now know the truth about Vale and are willing to follow Perry. In the spring, as Roar and Cinder go to leave Delphi, they say goodbye to Aria who is there to try and find the "Still Blue". At the gate of Delphi, Aria together with Roar, Marron and Marron’s pregnant wife were to part ways. At first, Aria wanted Perry to not know she’s still out there due to Perry being a Scire but Aria was no different from Rose and Brooke. The thought of Perry with Brooke and again had brought Aria pain.
Roar was about to depart when the wildflowers along the wall had caught her attention. She called Roar and ran to the wall, scanning the flowers. She found the right one, pluck it, drew its scent and imagined Perry beside her. She gave Roar a violet which is how she smells to Perry and sets off. A few days later, she hears Perry running for her. She chased the sounds until all she heard was his heartbeat and then his breath and his voice, right by her ear, telling her, in tones as warm as fire, exactly the words she wanted to hear.