“This is gothic storytelling with teeth: a lyrical and devastating tale of one maid caught in a spiderweb of loyalty, courage, revolution, and monsters both dead and alive.” —Marissa Meyer, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The House Saphir

A stunning young adult debut from gothic master Isabel Cañas, bestselling author of The Hacienda, Vampires of El Norte, and The Possession of Alba Díaz.

Growing up in a city wracked by political violence and a home where she’s more likely to receive a beating than a meal, Minerva Treviño’s cowardice has kept her alive for sixteen years. But even she has a limit. Hungry and desperate, she musters enough courage to run away and take a job as lady’s maid to a wealthy widow who supports the deposed viceroy.

Minerva is happy serving Encarnación del Valle. She has food in her belly and the safety of a warm house lit by magical chispa. Why should she care who runs the country or how her employer affords the magic?

When the viceroy sweeps back into power, Minerva retreats with her gleeful employer to the family’s mountainside stronghold to wait out the inevitable rebel slaughter. At la Casa de las Gardenias, Minerva faces new threats in the haughty servants and cruel, scheming del Valles.
But the living residents of the house are the least of her worries. As Minerva quickly discovers, the ancient estate is home to forces far older and more bloodthirsty than anything she could have imagined.