One night, Elango has a dream that consumes him: to create a terracotta horse whose beauty will be reason enough for its existence. If he completes it, he could gift it to Zohra, the woman he despairs of ever marrying. As he begins his mysterious project, Elango meets a girl on a journey of her own, and is adopted by a lost dog who steals his heart. In this novel by the author of All the Lives We Never Lived, chaotic forces are being unleashed, and people, animals, and even gods live on a knife's edge.