An instant classic for fans of Where the Crawdads Sing and We Begin at the End! The most heartbreaking and beautifully written debut novel of 2021. It's the summer of 1994 in Claypot, Wisconsin, and the lives of ten-year-old Fischer 'Fish' Branson and Dale 'Bread' Breadwin are shaped by the two fathers they don't talk about. One night, tired of seeing his best friend bruised and terrorized by his no-good dad, Fish takes action. A gunshot rings out and the two boys flee the scene, believing themselves murderers. They head for the woods, where they find their way onto a raft, but the natural terrors of Ironsforge gorge threaten to overwhelm them. Four adults track them into the forest, each one on a journey of his or her own. Fish's mother Miranda, a wise woman full of fierce faith; his granddad, Teddy, who knows the woods like the back of his hand; Tiffany, a purple-haired gas station attendant and poet looking for connection; and Sheriff Cal, who's having doubts about a life in law