'Exceptional, immersive and evocative ... full of spirit' Buzz Magazine
'Astonishing, huge in its scale and evocation of an unsung history' Luke Kennard, Booker-longlisted author of Black Bag
'Paints a heartfelt tale of wartime Korean orphanages and shanty towns' Yangsze Choo, New York Times-bestselling author of The Fox Wife

THE STUNNING HISTORICAL NOVEL FROM A REESE'S BOOK CLUB FELLOW

1950, Pyongyang. Oksoon's father - confident that the war is over - has left for Seoul in search of opportunity. There is nothing to do but wait, until the Chinese army attacks and forces Oksoon, her mother and her brother to flee southward themselves. But the journey is dangerous, and wartime makes enemies of even the kindest of friends.

Meanwhile, Oksoon's cousin Junho has found uncertain refuge in a struggling orphanage near the southern coast. When the orphanage director's rich niece arrives, harbouring a secret, Junho must choose between his duty and his dreams if they are all to survive...

What readers are saying:

'Put this on your TBR list! 5 golden stars for me'

'Highly recommended ... as emotionally rich as it is historically illuminating'

'An impressive debut that is a page turner'

'Oh my heart. This is a must-read book!'

'What Reed does brilliantly is hold the large and the intimate at once. The war is never backdrop but the story never loses sight of the small human negotiations happening inside it'