Francis Marion Tarwater is raised in isolation by his great-uncle, a self-proclaimed prophet who believes the boy is destined for a religious calling. When his uncle dies, Tarwater attempts to reject the role that has been imposed on him, determined to escape the weight of prophecy and shape his own...

Montserrat has always been overlooked. She’s a talented sound editor, but she’s left out of the boys’ club running the film industry in ’90s Mexico City. And she’s all but invisible to her best friend, Tristán, a charming if faded soap opera star, though she’s been in love with him since...

For five days in January 1989, the parents of a seven-year-old Tokyo schoolgirl sat and listened to the demands of their daughter’s kidnapper. They would never learn his identity. They would never see their daughter again. For the fourteen years that followed, the Japanese public listened to the...

Four novellas: Each taking place in 1998. SEASON OF SHADOWS "The force could lose face . . . I want you to fix this." Personnel's Futawatari receives a horrifying memo forcing him to investigate the behavior of a legendary detective with unfinished business. CRY OF THE EARTH "It's too easy to...