From the Number 1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson comes a standalone Cosmere novel of demons and destiny. In a forgotten land sustained by colorful rivers of demon blood, a child was born in the last cold hour of the last cold day of the last cold month. Let us call her December. As an orphaned foundling, December grew up doing her best to fit into the roles society prepared for her. But after a transformative experience, she learns a cataclysmic plague is on the way, one that will curdle the blood rivers and ravage the kingdom. But who will believe her, a poor woman from a small town on the riverbank? Against impossible odds, she sets sail up the River Violet to warn the king's court, determined to stop a devastating destiny. Armed only with her wits and accompanied by her new friends - a chatty priestess and a fledgling fashion designer - December must navigate incredulous royal officials, twisted court intrigue, and a roguish count who might hold the key to her quest . . . and her heart. In the cold days of her youth, society knew what to do with December. But now her eyes burn with wisdom beyond her years, and she will carve out whatever role she must to stave off disaster.