"With authentic characters, subtle romance, and convincing dual mysteries, a wandering life on the Bird of the River is a satisfying one indeed. Those mourning Baker’s death will be moved by this addition to her legacy." —Krista Hutley, Booklist

Things are finally looking up for teenage Eliss. She has managed to get her addict mother a job on the barge Bird of the River, providing a home for not only her mother, but herself and her younger half-brother, Alder. On her first job, their mother drowns and is pulled out of the river entangled with a headless body. Eliss takes over her mother’s job to keep their place on the barge, and discovers she has a talent for the work.

Krelan, a boy about Eliss’s age, works in the kitchen—but has secrets of his own. He is looking for the missing head of the body, while keeping his own past close. As the two of them get to know each other, other mysteries come to the fore. Why do pirates keep attacking, and why does the captain of the barge never set foot off the ship?

The Bird of the River is a coming-of-age story, a whodunnit, and a meditation on finding one’s place in the world, told as only Kage Baker could.