Cousins Uzochi and Lencho are the children of refugees from Nubiathe fallen island nation off the coast of west Africa, famous for the rumoured kinetic abilities of its people. Once revered as royalty, the cousins' families now struggle to survive amongst the slums of New York City, where climate change has ravaged the city with catastrophic flooding that only the rich residents of the Up High can avoid. Detested by the xenophobic Locals and with the constant threat of another flood looming, Uzochi and Lencho hardly feel like the kings their ancestors once were. But when they and other Nubian children begin to develop strange new powers, the cousins discover that the legendary abilities of their people might not be lost forever. Which scares the Locals most of all. An ancient Nubian prophecy foretells that the Nubians will rise again-and Lencho and Uzochi both believe they have the strength to lead their fellow kinetics to victory. But dark forces lurk behind every city corner, and when the cousins themselves are forced onto different sides of their conflict, who will unite the Nubians at last?