In a secessionist rural state that has cut itself off
completely from urban centres, where living is hardscrabble and poor
but “free,” Brooke Holland runs a farm with her husband and two daughters.
Their existence at the fringes of modern society is tenuous—they make barely enough from each harvest to keep going—yet Brooke cherishes the loving, peaceful life they
have carved out for themselves. She has even begun to believe she is
free from the violent history she has kept a secret from her family.

When escaped criminal Stephen Cawley
attacks the farm, Brooke’s buried talents surface, and she manages
to quickly and harshly subdue him. Convinced that he has
come in retribution for the blood feud that began years ago, Brooke sets out to
bring Cawley to justice, planning to use the bounty on his head to lead her
family into hiding far from danger. Fearing that other members of Cawley’s
infamous family will soon descend on the farm, Brooke insists that Milo and the
girls flee with her, travelling miles on foot across an unforgiving landscape
to reach the nearest marshal. Their journey, beginning at the onset of winter
with little preparation, brings already strained family dynamics to the
breaking point. As Brooke’s ghosts—both real and imagined—close in, the ruthlessness that allowed her to survive her past
may become the biggest threat to her hopes for a different future. What follows
is a harrowing exploration of family loyalty, trauma and resilience.

As haunting and propulsive as it is
powerfully written, The Captive is a thrilling debut novel
about the seemingly impossible choices we make to survive and protect the ones
we love.