Flora/Florian, an orphaned Black sailor on the pirate-posing-as-passenger-ship Dove, and Evelyn, a young woman of the ruling Nipran empire (drawn from Japanese and British influences) traveling to her arranged marriage, fall in love during the journey. When crew members capture a mermaid to sell on the black market, Evelyn is horrified. Flora/ian, who knows that the Dove's passengers including Evelyn will be sold into slavery, helps Evelyn and the mermaid escape. That's Part 1 (the Mermaid) of this ambitious historical fantasy that charts an original course as it follows the fate of its two intriguing main characters through their encounter with a witch, and their effort to rescue Flora/ian's brother on the Dove and help the Sea, mother of mermaids, punish its captain for the harm he's allowed be done to her daughters. Full of political and social intrigue, the story also examines ways in which freedom is compromised. There is physical freedom denied in the Dove 's imprisonment and sale of its passengers, Evelyn's pending forced marriage, Flora/ian and Alfie's indentured life aboard the Dove, and the mermaid's capture, for a start. There is also the freedom to be true to one's self, beautifully explored and expressed through the gender inclusivity of the novel, including Flora/ian's own emerging understanding of identity. Flora/ian initially thought posing as a boy aboard the Dove was a matter of physical survival, but comes to realize she/he/they are gender fluid. For Evelyn, Flora/ian is simply the person she loves. (Age 12 and older)

In a world divided by colonialism and threaded with magic, a desperate orphan turned pirate and a rebellious imperial lady find a connection on the high seas.

The pirate Florian, born Flora, has always done whatever it takes to survive—including sailing under false flag on the Dove as a marauder, thief, and worse. Lady Evelyn Hasegawa, a highborn Imperial daughter, is on board as well—accompanied by her own casket. But Evelyn’s one-way voyage to an arranged marriage in the Floating Islands is interrupted when the captain and crew show their true colors and enslave their wealthy passengers.

Both Florian and Evelyn have lived their lives by the rules, and whims, of others. But when they fall in love, they decide to take fate into their own hands—no matter the cost.

Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s sweeping fantasy debut, full of stolen memories, illicit mermaid’s blood, double agents, and haunting mythical creatures conjures an extraordinary cast of characters and the unforgettable story of a couple striving to stay together in the face of myriad forces wishing to control their identities and destinies.