Children think that we make sure they are, but we don’t … They enter into the world and make us. They make us by breaking us 1st.

‘Absolutely gripping’ Karin Slaughter

‘Impossible to put down’ Booklist

‘Undeniable, brilliantly created’ Theodore Wheeler

‘Exciting’ Lydia Kang

The world is mainly drinking water when Pearl is born. The floods have left America a cluster of about After the Flood small islands with roving trade boats and raiders.

Pearl knows small of her dad Jacob and elder sister Row, who also left her mother Myra when she was pregnant with her. Between them they put up, with Myra angling and trading to make ends meet, venturing from island to island on Parrot, the boat Myra’s grandfather made before he died.

Whilst their life is a tranquil one, Myra still pains for the daughter she once lost. Whenever a chance encounter reveals that Row might still be alive, Myra packs up six-year-old Pearl and together they commence a dangerous voyage towards the Valley, where rumours of violence and breeding boats run rampant.

Along the way they encounter death and strangers, finally selecting solace on board Sedna – full to the brim with supplies and an able staff – where Myra feels as though she might be closer to selecting Row than she’s ever been. But to access Row she’ll have to deceive everyone around her, betraying the trust of these she’s come to love, and have herself if she’s ready to sacrifice everything and everyone for what may be nothing at all.