All monsters and heroes have beginnings. This is mine.

Sixteen-year-old Manisha is no stranger to monsters - she's been running from them for years. Seventeen-year-old Pratyush is a famed slayer of monsters, one of the King's most prized warriors and a frequent visitor to the floating temples.

When Pratyush and Manisha meet, each sees in the other the possibility to chart a new path.

Alternating between Manisha's and Pratyush's perspectives, Sajni Patel weaves together lush language, high stakes, and page-turning suspense, demanding an answer to the question 'what does it truly mean to be a monster?'