A girl travels to the Spirit World to break a curse that threatens the lives of her people in this feminist YA retelling of the popular Korean legend “The Tale of Shim Cheong.”
Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Her people believe the Sea God has cursed them, so each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the ocean in the hopes of appeasing him.
Many believe that Shim Cheong, the most beautiful girl in the village—and the beloved of Mina’s older brother Joon—may be the one to finally end the suffering. But on the night Cheong is to be sacrificed, Joon follows Cheong out to sea, knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save her brother, Mina jumps into the water instead.
Swept away to the Spirit Realm, Mina seeks out the Sea God, only to find him caught in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a mysterious young lord named Shin, Mina sets out to wake the Sea God and bring an end to the killer storms.