National Network for Equitable Library Service

Wendy MacIntyre creates a fictional dystopian world so dark that her characters’ chances of survival look next to impossible. When art-lover Lucia finds her most precious possession destroyed, she resolves finally to abandon The City. Along the way she gathers companions, including: the Outpacer, a former hedonist and philanderer now hiding his identity behind a monk’s cowl; Bird Girl, a troubled young woman constantly hunting for books that have escaped the regime’s destruction; and Candace, a dominant individual whose repeated attempts to seize control of the group create tension among the travellers while they search for an alternate reality. Each has been contaminated by the world they have escaped and this imprinting threatens the survival of the group. As tensions increase and the failure of their quest seems imminent, they find a box holding six Greek tragedy masks. These masks, possessors of uncanny powers, are the keys to their future.