Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses illness, violence, murder, and death.

Defy the Night opens with teenage protagonist, Tessa Cade, sneaking out of the Royal Sector, the section of the kingdom of Kandala where the king and other elites live. She’s dodging guards and searchlights; the Royal Sector has electricity, but most of the nine sectors don’t. She’s stolen some Moonflower petals, which are the only cure for the pandemic that’s currently plaguing the kingdom. Medicine is distributed to those who can afford it, but many can’t. The royals and elites purchase more than they need, hoarding excessive resources while others go without and die.

Tessa and her friend Weston “Wes” Lark, whom she has a crush on, work together to steal materials from the Royal Sector, mix medicine in their workshop, and wear masks (to protect their identities) while distributing medicine under the cover of darkness. Tessa is an apothecary like her parents were, before royal guards murdered them two years ago—the night she met Wes and was protected from being killed by the same guards. Stealing and smuggling are punishable by death, but Tessa believes this is the right thing to do.