In an alternate 1957, where dragons are real though not generally trusted, biracial (Black/white) Sarah Dewhurst's widowed white father has hired a Blue named Kazimir to clear his fields. Sarah knows little about dragons but is intrigued by thoughtful Kazimir. Malcolm belongs to a dragon-worshipping cult whose mysterious leader has charged him with assassinating Sarah because of a prophecy. FBI Agents Dernovich and Wolf are in pursuit of Malcolm. On the way to kill Sarah, Malcolm's singlemindedness falters when he meets and falls in love with a young man named Nelson. Kazimir saves Sarah and her best friend, Japanese American Jason, from a violent, racist deputy sheriff. Agent Dernovich is murdered. The Russians launch Sputnik. A portal opens. Everything falls apart. End Part 1. In Part 2, Sarah, Malcom, and much transformed Kazimir and Agent Wolf find themselves in a parallel universe-1957 of our world. Kazimir is human; Sarah's mother is alive and shocked to see a girl claiming to be her daughter, who died of cancer; Malcolm grapples with guilt and remorse-for the cold killing he's done, for abandoning Nelson; and the dragon goddess Mitea is set on destroying humanity-one city at a time. Sarah, Kazimir, Malcolm, the Agent Dernovich of this world, and others are set on stopping her. Set against the backdrop of the Cold War, when the threat of violence and annihilation was a subtext of human existence, this richly imagined, unsettling story raises provocative questions about our humanity. (Age 14 and older)

On a cold Sunday evening in early 1957, Sarah Dewhurst waited with her father in the parking lot of the Chevron gas station for the dragon he’d hired to help on the farm…

Sarah Dewhurst and her father, outcasts in their little town of Frome, Washington, are forced to hire a dragon to work their farm, something only the poorest of the poor ever have to resort to.

The dragon, Kazimir, has more to him than meets the eye, though. Sarah can’t help but be curious about him, an animal who supposedly doesn’t have a soul but who is seemingly intent on keeping her safe.

Because the dragon knows something she doesn’t. He has arrived at the farm with a prophecy on his mind. A prophecy that involves a deadly assassin, a cult of dragon worshippers, two FBI agents in hot pursuit—and somehow, Sarah Dewhurst herself.