Tenli Faelin struggles to survive every day in the small, impoverished town where she lives with her sister and their mentally ill mother. Once, the town thrived due to the nearby mines, but now it is in a deplorable state - a quagmire that swallows people and their dreams.
The only thing that gives Tenli strength is the opportunity to win the sole university scholarship offered by the mining company. If she proves to be the most deserving, she will escape the hardships and misery, and perhaps be able to help her loved ones as well.

A few hundred meters away, the solitary and taciturn Keeland Barrett also lives under similar conditions and strives to be the one to win the scholarship, to escape the town that has caused him so much pain.

Both are determined not to form bonds with anything or anyone and to focus on their goal. However, a moment comes that will change everything. What happens when only one of them wins? When only one can escape? And what will become of the one left behind in the quagmire?