The much-anticipated stand-alone prequel to the bestselling Queen of the Tearling trilogy . . . A decadent kingdom . . . a descent into darkness . . . alliances forged under fire . . . a prophecy that will change the course of history .

SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE'Written with a wisdom and skill that few authors attain in a lifetime' Sunday TimesStill in her teenage years, Nazneen finds herself in an arranged marriage with a disappointed older man. Away from her Bangladeshi village, home is now a cramped flat in a high-rise block in London's East End. Nazneen knows not a word of English, and is forced to depend on her husband.

Confined in her tiny flat, Nazneen sews furiously for a living, shut away with her buttons...