Mila grew up amid cold and pain: her mother’s drunken brawls, beatings, and constant reproaches as if she were extra and nobody needed her. The only island of care was Aunt Zhenya—who knew how to warm and support.
Meeting Robert—successful, restrained, and magnetic in his own way—changes her life. But beneath his outward confidence lies a long-standing horror: he believes in the family curse, because of which men in his family don’t live to old age.
His salvation seems to be an ancient talisman—an amulet-tortoise created by Alfred Tiling. And if only Mila had known about it from the very beginning…