"Those who like Joyce Carol Oates will love this" dark novel of psychological suspense by the author of Mind of Winter and The Life Before Her Eyes ( Kirkus Reviews).

A married motel receptionist in a bleak Michigan town, Leila Murray has slipped into the habit of trading sex with strangers for money. When she meets a drifter who alternately sweet-talks and physically abuses her, it might be the wakeup call that dissuades her from a life of prostitution. Instead, she allows him to become her pimp.

In this chilling, "beautifully written page-turner" ( Booklist), we follow Leila's life as she spirals out of control-and learn the darkness in her past that drives her-in "an exploration of the legacy of abuse and violence [and] an amazing first novel" ( The Boston Globe).

"[An] extremely powerful debut... Profoundly disturbing but also resonant with hope and rebirth." - Los Angeles Times