In early 16th-century Korea, King Yeonsan terrorizes the populace, torturing those he considers enemies and kidnapping women as consorts. Iseul, 17, was raised in a noble family, but her parents were killed in one of the king’s sweeping campaigns of vengeance. Now her older sister, Suyeon, has been kidnapped by the king, and Iseul is determined to rescue her. Once pampered and self-absorbed, Iseul takes a job at an inn and is soon immersed in the hunt for an assassin known as Nameless Flower—who’s been murdering supporters of the king–in the hopes of trading the assassin’s identity for her sister’s release. Meanwhile, the king’s half-brother, Prince Daehuyn, maintains appearances in support of Yeonsan’s rule but is secretly helping organize a coup. The planning takes place at the inn where Iseul is working, and she finds herself drawn to Prince Daehuyn, as he is to her. Iseul’s priority remains saving Suyeon. But as questions about whom to trust deepen, she finds her best hope of helping her sister is knotted with the coup attempt, and she realizes that all of the women kidnapped by the king deserve saving. This sweeping love story and immersive work of historical fiction is told in chapters alternating between Iseul’s and Prince Daehuyn’s points of view, revealing each of their personal histories. The author’s excellent preface and end note provide helpful historical context. (Age 13 and older)

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

June Hur, bestselling author of The Red Palace, crafts a devastating and pulse-pounding tale that will feel all-too-relevant in today’s world, based on a true story from Korean history.

Hope is dangerous. Love is deadly.

1506, Joseon. The people suffer under the cruel reign of the tyrant King Yeonsan, powerless to stop him from commandeering their land for his recreational use, banning and burning books, and kidnapping and horrifically abusing women and girls as his personal playthings.

Seventeen-year-old Iseul has lived a sheltered, privileged life despite the kingdom’s turmoil. When her older sister, Suyeon, becomes the king’s latest prey, Iseul leaves the relative safety of her village, traveling through forbidden territory to reach the capital in hopes of stealing her sister back. But she soon discovers the king’s power is absolute, and to challenge his rule is to court certain death.

Prince Daehyun has lived his whole life in the terrifying shadow of his despicable half-brother, the king. Forced to watch King Yeonsan flaunt his predation through executions and rampant abuse of the common folk, Daehyun aches to find a way to dethrone his half-brother once and for all. When staging a coup, failure is fatal, and he’ll need help to pull it off—but there’s no way to know who he can trust.

When Iseul's and Daehyun's fates collide, their contempt for each other is transcended only by their mutual hate for the king. Armed with Iseul’s family connections and Daehyun’s royal access, they reluctantly join forces to launch the riskiest gamble the kingdom has ever seen:

Save her sister. Free the people. Destroy a tyrant.

Also by June Hur:
The Silence of Bones
The Forest of Stolen Girls
The Red Palace