Author Sheila O'Connor tells the compelling story of Faina McCoy, a young girl caught in a perilous scheme of elaborate lies created for her own harrowing system of survival. Enmeshed in a tangled family web, Faina is abruptly uprooted against her will from her father and finds herself half a continent away on the doorstep of a mother who abandoned her years before—but who can't live without Faina now. Alone, persecuted, and exploited, Faina must fend for herself as she searches for love and answers, navigating the streets of a strange city and forging bonds of feeling with liars and outlaws.

Where No Gods Came is a powerful look at assimilation and resilience and the sacrifices we all make to adapt. It's a potent reminder, too, of the tenacity and courage required of fragile families who endure on the edge. Faina McCoy triumphs as an unlikely—and unforgettable—heroine, a stubborn child who will survive to tell the tale.

Sheila O'Connor is the author of the novel-in-stories Tokens of Grace, and has received fellowships from the Bush Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board, and Loft–McKnight, as well as the Tamarack Award for fiction. She teaches writing in the M.F.A. program at Hamline University.

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