In un mondo devastato e vuoto, in cui l'umanità è stata spazzata via dalla Guerra e dall'Epidemia, una donna, sola, attraversa quella che un tempo fu la Gran Bretagna. Si è salvata restando chiusa nel Deposito dei Semi di Svalbard, tra i ghiacci del Nord. Poi, a bordo di una barca, ha affidato la sua vita al mare ed è approdata in Scozia. Ora si dirige a sud, verso quella che un tempo è stata la sua casa, convinta che tutti siano morti o rintanati in uno dei Centri di sicurezza ancora integri. Lei cammina, ricorda e sopravvive. Perché resistere quando non c'è più nessuno? In questo suo pelligrinaggio in cui la sopravvivenza fine a se stessa sembra l'unico obiettivo, incontra una ragazzina senza memoria e senza parola. La chiamerà Mostro, come suo padre faceva affettuosamente con lei. E proseguono insieme il cammino. In un'atmosfera sospesa e desolata, con uno stile essenziale e poetico, Katie Hale racconta due donne perse che portano avanti la vita, gettando così le basi per un nuovo inizio.

A middle-class white woman in rural America and war-affected children in Africa find common ground in their journeys from brokenness to redemption.

Author and psychologist Bethany Haley shares how her own emotional healing led her into treacherous war zones, where she provides care to former child soldiers and how young girls used as sex slaves.

Faced with her own battle with shame and a rocky journey toward healing, Bethany founded Exile International, a non-profit that implements art/expressive therapy and long-term, rehabilitative care to restore and empower war-affected children—including children rescued from Joseph Kony’s LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army).

One of those rescued young men, Solomon, was abducted at the age of ten after being forced to watch LRA soldiers maim and murder his father and grandfather. His younger siblings were left behind, and his mother was instructed to “raise them well…for one day we’ll return to take them too.” Solomon is one of hundreds of thousands of boys and girls who have had their innocence stolen and are forced to do the unthinkable on a daily basis. But their horrific experiences are just the beginning. The real story is what happens after.

Once these children learn to face their pasts, they are given hope for a future and a vision for changing the fabric of their countries by becoming leaders for peace and advocates of the power of forgiveness.

Greg and Tess MacAvoy are one of four prominent Nantucket couples who count each other as best friends. As pillars of their close-knit community, the MacAvoys, Kapenashes, Drakes, and Wheelers are important to their friends and neighbors, and especially to each other. But just before the beginning of another idyllic summer, Greg and Tess are killed when their boat capsizes during an anniversary sail. As the warm weather approaches and the island mourns their loss, nothing can prepare the MacAvoy's closest friends for what will be revealed.

Once again, Hilderbrand masterfully weaves an intense tale of love and loyalty set against the backdrop of endless summer island life.