In these nine stories, characters persist or falter amidst twisted realities, dystopian futures or the compromise of everyday life. From a woodland fairy tale, to a story of a woman's solace in the world of online gaming, to a life model observing her admirers amidst a self imposed loneliness, to an account of stark and brutal domestic violence, these stories take on the strange and difficult, the beautiful and the defiant.
From the secrets of the forest, to the magic of the sea, these nine stories tell of what happens when passion, desire, loneliness and imprisonment lead us on a search for freedom and empowerment - no matter what the cost.A woman makes a deal with gods and goddesses in order to bring a slanderous town down to its knees, a man who has lost everything finds himself in the graveyards of Paris, turning to dark magic to ensure success, an opulent masked ball becomes the stage of spite and revenge, a teenage boy who believes he is in the wrong body calls out to mermaids to enchant him.With strands of classic fairy and folklore weaved through, the unknown - the silent and dark - is explored. Where spirits, deities and witches lurk, but also where the beauty of life and renewal can be found.