A hypnotically original and lush speculative novel from award-winning author Tanas about family secrets and the motherdaughter bond across generationsultimately blurring the boundary between past and present, human and machine.

Qamar is a musician hustling in a near-future metropolitan city. Struggling to pay rent and heartbroken after a breakup, she decides to return to the island ashram of her childhood. Its time to finally settle the rift she has with her estranged mother, Vedaa brilliant scientist, actress, and one of the leaders of a now-dissolved cult called the Endless Temple.

But when Qamar arrives, the land is verdant yet neglected, and, most troubling, there are no signs of her mother or sister, Palo. Behind a retina scanlocked door, Qamar encounters her mothers last opus, a machine consciousness called VEDA (Virtual Experiences, Dreams and Afterlife), designed to reveal the story of Vedas life. The descent into VEDAs technoscape forces Qamar to confront the taboos and tragedies of their past, while bracing herself for the wild, unexpected possibilities that await.

Tanas(ne Tanwi Nandini Islam) is a multidisciplinary artist, novelist, memoirist, and perfumer. They are the author ofIn Sensorium: Notes for My People, which won the Kirkus Prize in Nonfiction, and offers an alternative history of South Asia through the lens of scent. Their critically acclaimed queer coming-of-age debut novel,Bright Lines, was a finalist for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, the Edmund White Debut Fiction Award, and the Brooklyn Eagles Literary Prize. They studied at Vassar College and Brooklyn College, and founded the independent artisan perfume house Studio Tanas. Their writing and perfumes have been featured inVogue, Vogue India, Elle, Harpers Bazaar, The Cut, TheNation, and more. They live in New York City with their husband, Mojo.

• Publisher: Dutton
• Publish Date: October 20, 2026
• Pages: 320
• Language: English
• Type: Hardcover
• EAN/UPC: 9780593852859
• Dimensions: 8.3 X 5.5 X 0.8 inches | 0.85 pounds
• BISAC Categories: Literary Fiction, Science Fiction