The little monster met the little human. And that was the beginning and end of the world as they knew it. MARA is a monster. One of the feared Mordgris, mermaid-like sea monsters of the deep who steal faces and souls. They trail pirate, naval, and merchant ships alike in the hopes of finding their next meal. AMISTA's father just fell overboard for the Mordgris to feast upon. Good riddance, she thinks. He was a shoddy example of a father and not a much better king. And she's tired of being a proper princess and pretending otherwise for polite society. When the two meet, Mara knows she should make a meal of the little human. But how can she resist discovering more about the one who behaves so differently from the rest of her kind? And to Amista, Mara may not be so monstrous after all... In this imaginative new spin on the classic tale of The Little Mermaid and prequel to the Lady Pirates series, Mara and Amista will grapple with decades-long fear and loathing between their kinds. ...And not everyone will get to keep their soul.