DELUXE EDITION―a stunning hardcover edition featuring dark crimson sprayed edges The Godfather meets The Magicians in the sweeping adult debut from #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu. Perfect for fans of V.E. Schwab, Red City is a dark and deadly contemporary fantasy of magical warfare, star-crossed ambition, and the pursuit of perfection at any cost, set in a glittering alternate Los Angeles. Alchemy is the hidden art of transformation. An exclusive power wielded by crime syndicates that market it to the world’s elites in the form of sand, a drug that enhances those who take it into a more perfect version of themselves: more beautiful, more charismatic, simply more. Among the gleaming skyscrapers and rolling foothills of Angel City, alchemy is controlled by two rival syndicates. For years, Grand Central and Lumines have been balanced on a razor’s edge between polite negotiation and outright violence. But when two childhood friends step into that delicate equation, the city―and the paths of their lives―will be irrevocably transformed. The daughter of a poor single mother, Sam would do anything to claw her way into the ranks of Grand Central in search of a better life. Plucked away from his family as a boy to become a Lumines apprentice, Ari is one of the syndicates' brightest rising stars. Once, they might have loved each other. But as the two alchemists face off across opposite sides of an ever-escalating conflict, ambition becomes power, loyalty becomes lies, and no transformation may be perfect enough for them both to survive the coming war.

A new era of alchemy is about to dawn… The empire of Grand Central, built on its foundation of sand, has crumbled. But in Europe, Belle Epoque believes it has the key to a bright new golden age. A new formula for the philosopher’s stone, so strong it stretches the limits of the impossible. They plan to unveil the drug at a global Exhibition, where they will unleash wonders the world has never seen―and rain destruction upon their enemies. It’s a plan that’s missing only one thing: the Ghost who brought down Grand Central. Set adrift by her own victory, Sam takes Belle Epoque’s offer, but all she wants is to turn their plans against them. Set free of the syndicates for the first time in years, Ari follows her back into their grasp. All he has ever wanted is for those he loves to be safe. But forces greater than them both are on the move, bringing new enemies–and old–into their orbit. Sam and Ari have never had the luxury of being on the same side. Now, it might be too late to reclaim the innocence of the children they once were, but perhaps they can still find their way back to each other… unless this deadly new age forces them to pay for their ambitions with their lives.