Theo Aldridge signs the last contract of his life on the night the family mill goes bankrupt. He wakes the next morning married to Aurel Vane-a monster in a tailored suit who owns the town's water rights, does not eat, does not age, and does not cast a reflection. The bargain is simple: one year of marriage, and the mill will run again, and the valley will survive. Theo moves into Vane Hall expecting cruelty and finds a three-hundred-year ledger of spouses who did not survive the pact. The river is rising ahead of schedule. Aurel wants to send Theo away to save him. Theo has other plans, and they involve blood, the river, and a saying that has never been said out loud in this valley before.
