First published 2026
Russian forces gather at Ukraine's borders, then strike Kyiv without warning. Tatyanna loses everything when bombs kill her boyfriend and closest friend. The young ballerina must choose between joining the resistance or accepting an offer from a Paris ballet company. Yulya watches her comfortable family life crumble as shells fall on her neighborhood. She faces leaving her husband and aging parents behind to get her children to safety across the border. Dr. Sasha refuses to abandon her patients despite the mounting danger, treating the wounded as the hospital becomes a target. Elderly Oxana will not leave her frail husband, even as their apartment building shakes from nearby explosions. Each woman confronts the war's brutal reality in her own way. Their decisions reveal what matters most when survival hangs in the balance. Steel explores how ordinary people discover extraordinary strength when everything they cherish comes under fire.
Genres: fiction, drama, war, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, survival
Setting: Kyiv, Paris, Ukraine
Period: 21st-century
256 pages · Hardcover · Delacorte Press
Content warnings: death, war