Debt Orchids by Alexis Barajas

In a world where saving the planet is the ultimate commodity, the line between hero and villain blurs in this electrifying techno-thriller. 

Singapore’s gleaming skyline hides a dark secret: beneath its carbon-neutral skyscrapers, a $50 billion fraud is poisoning the green energy revolution. Solar engineer **Darien Haze**, a Berkeley idealist with scars from his own prototypes, uncovers the rot when his groundbreaking lithium-sulfur batteries are linked to uranium smuggling and AI-generated carbon offsets. Teaming up with **Eris Vorn**, a razor-sharp forensic accountant with a shattered past, they plunge into a labyrinth of corporate espionage, algorithmic deceit, and eco-mercenaries. 

From the uranium-tainted steppes of Kazakhstan to the floating solar rigs of Bali, Darien and Eris race to expose **LuminaCore**, a Silicon Valley darling preparing a $200 billion IPO. But every revelation tightens the noose: phantom forests, rigged bond markets, and a conspiracy that could crash renewable energy grids worldwide. As they hack, fight, and outwit their way through a web of betrayal, they face impossible choices: publish the truth and risk global blackouts, or bury it and empower the very forces they’re trying to stop. 

With a cast of unforgettable characters—a journalist trading integrity for her daughter’s life, a data scientist planting digital rebellion before her suicide, and a dementia-stricken financier funding Arctic seed vaults—*Debt Orchids* is a pulse-pounding exploration of the cost of progress. 

Alexis Barajas crafts a near-future world where environmentalism is both shield and weapon, and every solution seeds darker problems. Perfect for fans of *The Martian*’s technical brilliance and *The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo*’s relentless intrigue, this novel will leave you questioning: Can we save the planet without destroying ourselves? 

The revolution isn’t just green—it’s deadly.