Set in a lush, Puerto Rico-inspired world, this sweeping historical fantasy combines Caribbean carnaval culture and the mythology of the Tanothe Indigenous people of the regionin a gripping exploration of community, reclamation, and healing in defiance of a violent past.

When night descends, el Carnaval de Bestias rises.

Within the shores of Isla Bestia, guests from around the world discover a utopia of ever-changing performances, sumptuous feasts and beautiful monsters. Many enter, but few ever leavethe wine is simply too sweet, the music too fine and the revelry endless.

Sofa, a freedwoman from a nearby colonized island, cares little for this revelry. Born an enslaved mestiza on a tobacco plantation, she has neither wealth nor title, only a scholarly pragmatism and a hunger for answers. She travels to el Carnaval de Bestias in search of her twin brother, who disappeared five years ago.

Theres a world of wonder waiting for her on the shores of this legendary island, one wherein conquerors profit from Sofias ancestral lands and her peoples labor. But surrounded by her former enslavers, she finds something familiar in the performanceswhispers of the islands native tongue, music and stories from her Taikeri ancestorsa culture long hidden in the shadows, thrust into the light.

As the nights pass, her mind begins unraveling, drowning in the unnatural, almost sentient thrall of Carnaval. And the sense that someone is watching her grows. To find her brother and break free, Sofia must peel back the glamorous curtain and face those behind Carnaval, before she too loses herself to the island