East of the Mississippi, in the civilized world, dime store novels and gossips claim that the territory to the west is home to monsters and magic, wild Indians and disreputable whites. They claim that in order to survive, any who live there must make a deal with the Devil.
Some of this is true.
Isobel is a child of the Territory. She grew up in a saloon, trained to serve drinks and fold laundry, to observe the players at the card tables and report back to her boss on what she saw. But when she comes of age, she is given a choice.
“The right hand gathers and gives, visible to all. But the left hand, Isobel, the manu sinistra? It moves in shadows, unseen, unheard…. Until I deem it time for it to be seen and heard. And when it moves, its work cannot be undone. It is the strength of the Territory, the quick knife in the darkness, the cold eye and the final word.”
She looked up, away from his hands, and was caught by a gaze the burnt gold of the morning sun.
“I have been lacking a left hand for too long, now. Are you strong enough for that, Isobel nee Lacoyo Tavora? Is the iron in your spine, the fire in your blood, proof against my forging?”
Isobel chooses power. Chooses risk. Chooses to throw her cards in with the Devil, Master of the Territory.
But the costs of that power are greater than she ever imagined; the things she must do, the person she must become… And she needs to learn her new role quickly: pressures from both outside the Territory and within are growing, and the Devil’s Hand has work to do.