"Poignant, wry and compelling. McHugh's tale of family crises and arcane mysteries brings the magic."

—M.R. Carey (Outlaw Planet, Infinity Gate)

"A colourful, mysterious Tarot-infused occult adventure, so vividly written that reading it was like having a weird and wonderful dream. It features two great characters: Aly, the "art-monster" single mother and her conflicted adult daughter Pallas—and now I wish for more stories about them."

—Lisa Tuttle (The Mysteries, A Nest of Nightmares)

"Beautifully realised characters, a dark and magical quest at its heart and prose that's a sheer delight—Maura McHugh's latest novella is a joy to read."

—Alison Littlewood (Path of Needles, The Crow Garden)

Aly Wyrd, famous art provocateur and magician, is missing on the eve of the opening of her visionary project, the Path of Illumination.
It falls to her estranged daughter, Pallas Trismegistus Morrigan Aylward, to navigate through dream, memory and arcane mystery to revisit her history
with her mother in '80s London and '90s Ireland until Pallas catches up with present-day revelation by walking the road to enlightenment designed by her mother.