Megan Hunter’s debut novel belongs to the growing number of novels currently referred to as cli-fi (climate fiction).

As the story opens, we meet an unnamed narrator giving birth to her first child, Zeb, known afterwards only as Z. Days later, she and her husband, R and their baby are forced to leave their home in search of safety. Devastating floodwaters have rendered large sections of London uninhabitable, forcing mass evacuations. The family heads north seeking refuge. Eventually, R is separated from the family, leaving the narrator to continue northward as the baby grows and thrives. The mother and child encounter other survivors as they move from place to place in search of safety.

This short, poetic, dystopian tale is interspersed with italicized passages alluding to creation and flood narratives.