Emily McIntire, an internationally acclaimed author, presents a captivating and provocative retelling of The Wizard of Oz in a dark and tantalizing fractured fairy tale.
A woman possesses the capacity for greatness, as well as darkness.
Evelina Westerly has always embraced her role as the antagonist. Serving as the mastermind, muscle, and horticulturist within her family’s illicit drug empire, she is her father’s formidable and merciless secret weapon. Juggling her time between tending to her botanical haven, seeking vengeance for her sister’s murder, and eliminating anyone who dares obstruct her path, Evelina has no room in her life for anything else—especially not love. Following a fleeting encounter with a captivating stranger at a nightclub, she satisfies her desires and returns to her criminal pursuits. However, her world is turned upside down when the same man reemerges in her life as a new recruit for the Westerly family, under an entirely different identity.
Yet Nicholas Woodsworth harbors a far more perilous secret than a mere alias. He is an undercover agent for the DEA, committed to dismantling the drug trade that ravaged his own family. Discovering that the youngest scion of the Westerly dynasty is the very woman who has consumed his thoughts since their encounter at the club, Nicholas grapples with a tumultuous mix of attraction and repulsion. Evelina embodies everything he stands against, and his mission mandates her downfall. However, as they uncover the shadows lurking within each other’s souls, their similarities become increasingly apparent. As animosity transforms into something deeper, Nicholas must confront whether he can love a woman steeped in darkness, even if it means risking the ruin of both their lives.