First published 2026
Becks cranks her Walkman and counts the days until she can escape Cincinnati. She's nineteen and grieving her uncle, the one person who truly got her. Before he died, he left her something important: an unfinished game they need to complete together. She throws herself into the work, treating it as their final project and her ticket out of isolation. What Becks creates will ripple through time in ways she never expects. Centuries later, her creation touches a scientist conducting research, a thinking machine gaining consciousness, and a tough sea captain navigating distant waters. A space traveler moves between their stories, connecting their separate quests. Each character searches for the same thing Becks sought in that Cincinnati bedroom: genuine human connection. The game becomes a bridge across time, linking five lives in their shared need to find others who understand them.
Genres: fiction, adventure, contemporary, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, time-travel
Setting: Cincinnati
Period: Centuries Later
304 pages · Paperback · Scribner Canada