Clockwork Boys follows a band of murderers, forgers, assassins, and scholars who are tasked with unraveling the secret of the Clockwork Boys, deadly mechanical soldiers from a neighboring kingdom. Their reward for success is a pardon and various other rewards. However, they must refrain from killing one another on the journey, which means surviving dangerous enemy territory en route to the capital. T. Kingfisher's novel is darkly humorous yet poignant as broken individuals are thrown together on a suicide mission to make the most of their remaining lives.