'Had me gripped from start to finish ... timely, horrifying, and hugely entertaining'
- Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Dance Tree and The Mercies

The day Rowena Murray was born, 250 starlings fell like stones from the sky. Ever since, she has been marked by Death. First the visions; then her boyfriend died suddenly; now her father, too.

Salvation, Rowena is told, lies to the North: in Culcrith, where her grandmother can save her from the curse. Her mother's farmhand, a young Egyptian man named Halim, is to drive her.

The trip isn't easy. Rowena is rebellious, spiky, and sees bad omens everywhere; Halim is reserved, quiet and prefers to play by the rules; the land is mysterious and treacherous, with people who have married old traditions with new prejudices. The pair's battle of wills may yet develop into an alliance, if they can only let their guards down and let the wild in.

Exploring belief, loyalty and legacies beyond our control, Nadia Attia's thrilling debut is as magnetic and unpredictable as the curse Rowena is racing to escape.

'Had me gripped from start to finish ... timely, horrifying, and hugely entertaining'
Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Dance Tree and The Mercies

'Swerves through a fascinating, fractured landscape of folkloric traditions and contemporary divisions'
Cari Thomas, Sunday Times-bestselling author of Threadneedle

'A vibrant and devastating tale of loss and love ... Characters to treasure' - Saara El-Arifi, Sunday Times-bestselling author of Faebound

Rowena has always been a rebel: foul-mouthed, light-fingered, the last to leave a party. Unfortunately, she's also cursed - marked by Death since birth. When Rowena's boyfriend and father die in quick succession her mother sends her North to her gran, the one healer strong enough to lift the curse before her eighteenth birthday.
Halim is proud, independent and just a few payments away from owning his truck. Unfortunately, his latest cargo is Rowena. Every gun-patrolled, hard county border they cross poses a threat to his future, as do Rowena's increasingly dark visions.
Their journey takes them across a disunited kingdom where folk marry the old ways of spells and superstition with reawakened prejudices. Can Rowena and Halim overcome their differences and forge an alliance in order to survive?

'Had me gripped from start to finish ... timely, horrifying, and hugely entertaining'
Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Dance Tree and The Mercies

'Swerves through a fascinating, fractured landscape of folkloric traditions and contemporary divisions'
Cari Thomas, Sunday Times-bestselling author of Threadneedle

'A vibrant and devastating tale of loss and love ... Characters to treasure' - Saara El-Arifi, Sunday Times-bestselling author of Faebound

Rowena has always been a rebel: foul-mouthed, light-fingered, the last to leave a party. Unfortunately, she's also cursed - marked by Death since birth. When Rowena's boyfriend and father die in quick succession her mother sends her North to her gran, the one healer strong enough to lift the curse before her eighteenth birthday.
Halim is proud, independent and just a few payments away from owning his truck. Unfortunately, his latest cargo is Rowena. Every gun-patrolled, hard county border they cross poses a threat to his future, as do Rowena's increasingly dark visions.
Their journey takes them across a disunited kingdom where folk marry the old ways of spells and superstition with reawakened prejudices. Can Rowena and Halim overcome their differences and forge an alliance in order to survive?