From the author ofThe Stolen Bicycle- longlisted for the International Man Booker Prize

On the island of Wayo Wayo, every second son must leave on the day he turns fifteen as a sacrifice to the Sea God. Atilei however is determined to defy destiny and become the first to survive.

Across the sea, Alice Shihs life is interrupted when a vast trash vortex comes crashing onto the shore of Taiwan, bringing Atilei with it.

In the aftermath of the catastrophe, Atilei and Alice retrace her late husbands footsteps into the mountains, hoping to solve the mystery of her sons disappearance. On their journey, memories will be challenged, an unusual bond formed, and a dark secret uncovered that will force Alice to question everything she thought she knew.

WU MING-YI is a Taiwanese writer, painter, designer, photographer, literary professor, butterfly scholar, environmental activist, traveller and blogger. He is the author of the novelRoutes in the Dream(2007), as well as a number of non-fiction books and short story collections.The Man with the Compound Eyesis his first novel to be translated into English.

DARRYL STERK has translated numerous short stories from Taiwan forThe Chinese Pen Quarterly, and now teaches translation in the Graduate Program in Translation and Interpretation at National Taiwan University.