Thirteen-year-old Hayat was almost sacrificed to become a mermaid by her father when she was an infant. Now she faces the same problem once again because of her newborn brother.
The only source of the food on the island is mermaid flesh. The only way to keep the food supply going is to sacrifice baby girls to the sea. After being saved by her father as an infant from being given to the mermaids, 13-year-old Hayat faces the prospect of being sacrificed again, because island customs dictate that the presence of her new-born brother makes her obsolete. Hayat must choose between accepting her fate to become a mermaid or fighting for the body she inhabits.
