When Stella, a young Métis mother, looks out her window one evening and spots someone in trouble on the Break — a barren field on an isolated strip of land outside her house — she calls the police to alert them to a possible crime. But when they arrive, no one is there; scuff marks in the compacted snow are the only sign anything may have happened.
What follows is a powerful tale of a community in crisis as people who are connected, both directly and indirectly, with the victim — police, family, and friends — tell their stories leading up to that fateful night.
Through their various perspectives a larger, more comprehensive story about the lives of the residents in Winnipeg’s North End is exposed.
‘Stunning … [Vermette] chooses her words with a poet’s precision.’ Literary Review of Canada
‘One of the great Indigenous novels.’ First Nations Voice
‘[A] brave and important novel.’ Eastern Door
‘A visionary debut novel.’ CBC Books
‘Equal parts page-turner and stunning literary accomplishment.’ Open Book