First published 2011
Cam Attling comes back to Kayforl after twelve years of fighting, but he returns alone. Every other soldier from his town died in the war. Cam lost his arm but kept his life, and now his neighbors wonder why he survived when their sons and husbands did not. The suspicion grows thick around him. His engagement to Graceful Fenister crumbles. His place in the community becomes uncertain. Cam decides to leave Kayforl behind and search for the lord who cut off his arm yet chose not to kill him. He wants answers about why he lived when others died, and he needs to find where he belongs now. The story follows not just Cam but everyone whose lives connect with his. In this invented medieval world, sisters and parents and lovers must all figure out how to live with what war left behind. The battles have ended, but the real struggle is just beginning.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, war, fantasy
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Kayforl
Period: medieval
302 pages · Hardcover · Dial Books
Content warnings: death, war