Tess Hunter

As a young teen, Alyssa has a relationship with abusive 21-year-old Steven, but their path takes a dark turn after she has his child, so she gives her up for adoption. Years later, their now 17-year-old daughter, seeks them out, and Steven manipulates her into an affair, neglecting his family.

Cree matriarch Aline Spears survives a childhood in Canada’s residential school system to continue her family’s generational fight in the face of systemic starvation, racism, and sexual abuse. She uses her uncanny ability to understand and translate codes into working for a special division of the Canadian Air Force as a Cree code talker in World War II. The story unfolds over 100 years with a cumulative force that propels us into the future.