Earth is in a horrific drought. To provide enough food for the nation, scientists engineer arachnids-spiders-to enormous sizes as a source of protein. Soon it's discovered giant rachs can be trained by humans as beasts of burden; and eventually, with the advent of giant scorpions, as terrifying beasts built for combat in distant, arid lands long at war with the nation . . .Calliope Turner is a colonel's kid living on a military base where rockets are launched to the moon. Her brother Theo is a special ops soldier about to go on a deployment there, and Callie can't wait to grow up just like him.On the day of the launch, though, every rach on base goes haywire, capturing soldiers and civilians alike. The only rach not participating in the uprising is Callie's pet rach, Goliath. Callie and a new kid at school, Jacob, find themselves the only humans left to save the base and rescue Theo. As Callie and Jacob race to defeat the mega-scorp behind the rebellion, Callie discovers that she has a unique ability: She can communicate with the giant bugs in a way no human being should be able to do. This shocking gift could be the key to saving Theo's life . . . or it might be the one thing that dooms them all.