The sea gives life, but it also takes it away ... A dark and thrilling tale about mermaids and sea-magic, love, betrayal and revenge from the Sunday Times bestselling author of After the Forest

Saint-Malo, Brittany, 1758. To Lucinde Leon, the youngest daughter of a wealthy French shipowner, the high walls of Saint-Malo are more hindrance than haven.

While her sisters are busy trying to secure advantageous marriages, Luce spends her days secretly being taught to sail by Samuel, her best friend-and an English smuggler. Only he understands how the waves call to her. Then one stormy morning, Luce rescues a drowning man from the sea.

Immediately drawn in by the stranger's charm, Luce is plunged into a world of glittering balls and faerie magic, seduction and brutality. Secrets that have long been lost in the shadowy depths of the ocean begin to rise to the surface, but as Luce wrestles with warring desires, she finds that her own power is growing brighter and brighter, shining like a sea-glass slipper ... Or the scales of a sea-maid's tail.

PRAISE

'A magnificent blend of reimagined fairytale and epic adventure, anchored by excellent research and buoyed by brilliant writing. This is a must-read!' Juliet Marillier, award-winning author of the Sevenwaters and Blackthorn & Grim series

'Kell Woods is a born storyteller with a wonderful imagination' Natasha Lester, New York Times bestselling author of The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre