From the award-winning author of The Bride at Sea comes this visceral tale of feminine rage and magical realism as Layla learns the very human pains of growing up and realizing the world isn't as safe a place as it should be.

A man's body is found viciously murdered behind a neighborhood's corner store, sending shockwaves through the tight-knit community in this small-town neighborhood. All the victim's family and bystanders want is to make sense of this brutal crime and move on with their lives.

But all seven-year-old Layla wants is a pet donkey. To her, a donkey is the epitome of freedom and being self-sufficient--to think for herself, go anywhere by herself and live an independent life.

As the killings continue, Layla's world unravels. Rumors start to fly of supposed hoofprints and a woman with hair like black silk. As the ambiguous messages in lipstick and sweet smell of perfume cause the finger of blame to point towards the women, Layla herself grows into a woman.

The kind of woman she has always dreamt of becoming--a woman with sharp instincts. A woman who cannot be tamed.

The night is not for you. It has always belonged to her.