Alif had exciting summer plans: working on her father's archeological dig site in the desert with four close friends ... and a very cute research assistant. Then the sandstorm hit.

Their camp wiped away, Alif and the others find themselves lost on the sands, seemingly doomed ... until they find the oasis. It has everything they need: food, water, and shade - and mysterious ruins that hide a deadly secret. As reality begins to shift around them, they question what's real and what's a mirage.

The answers turn Alif and her friends against each other, and they begin to wonder if they've truly been saved. And while it was easy to walk into the oasis, it may be impossible to leave ...