Publisher's Synopsis
Ninety-five percent of the world's population perishes in the worst pandemic since the Black Plague and Valentina's about to find out that surviving means enduring the wrath of a prophet determined to bend her to his will. At the onset of the pandemic, Valentina deals with an absent husband, a self-absorbed mother, and grief over another miscarriage. As the death toll rises, the plague claims the lives of everyone she loves. Alongside a coalition of survivors, she fights for diminishing resources and navigates a society where uterus renting is a guaranteed meal ticket. When she rescues a pregnant woman from an attacker, she unknowingly helps the woman escape from her husband, a prophet who has amassed a legion of followers. With a price on her head, Valentina's on the run and grappling with feelings of guilt, isolation, and hopelessness. She's just about given up all faith in humanity until she happens upon a girl left alone to fend for herself. The girl fulfills Valentina's yearning to be a mother and she vows to protect her. Before she can live up to that promise, she comes face to face with the prophet who gives her a choice: carry his child, or die.
