From the bestselling author of the Trickster trilogy comes a bold fantasy inspired by the Indigenous cultures of the Pacific Northwest, set on a dangerous planet where monsters haunt the survivors of an apocalyptic sorcerers' war. The first gripping novel in a new trilogy.

As the daughter of the Guardian of the Eagle Clan and the granddaughter of its shaman, Yuala longs to become a warrior or a healer or, if all else fails, to make a strategic marriage to cement an alliance that will help protect her village of Winter Haven. But in a world where her mother can rain down fire on their enemies and other fighters can move objects with their minds, Yuala’s only gift is her ability to connect with creatures regarded as monsters: warlike Forest People, giant, flesh-eating octopuses, dog-sized cave worms and other abominations let in after warring sorcerers broke open the world.

Misfit Yuala's one recognized talent is for getting into trouble. But just as she is giving up on her dreams, her powerful grandfather decides that her strangeness means she is destined to become the next Clan shaman. With fear and hope in her heart, Yuala plunges into a grueling supernatural apprenticeship, thrilled to be on a useful path at last.

Meanwhile far to the south, a new chief of a rival nation has seized power and is on the hunt for the Sorceress of Sky Serpents, whose coming seers have foretold. As a battle brews on the shores of Winter Haven, something fiery builds in Yuala, too—but will she come into her power and save her clan before it’s too late?