An Instant New York Times Bestseller!
A BuzzFeed Best Young Adult Book of 2020
Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Serpent & Dove, this
heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set
in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the
Huangpu River.
The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery.
A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city
helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is
eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to
assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang--a network of
criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White
Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every
move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette's first love...and first
betrayal.
But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating
in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a
contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack
up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns--and grudges--aside and work
together, for if they can't stop this mayhem, then there will be no city
left for either to rule.