Arthur Hallingham is the youngest son of an English earl. He's on the run from his former life -- from a family where painful, half-understood secrets lurk.Arthur travels on a slave ship to the coast of Virginia. Amidst the teeming squalor and vaulting ambitions of the New World, he encounters Flora, the tough daughter of an outlaw, and Shelo, a native medicine man with mysterious powers who seems to have a plan for him.The three set off on a journey through the thick forests and along the wide rivers of the lush southern wilderness. As they near their destination, Shelo's terrible and destructive purpose is gradually revealed.This is a rich, beautiful and compelling novel that will appeal to fans of Audrey Niffenegger, Erin Morgenstern and Neil Gaiman, by a young debut author destined for literary stardom.