"First published in New Zealand in slightly different form by Victoria University Press, Wellington, in 2019"--Title page verso.

The epic fantasy that's taking the world by storm--a bewitching story about a revenge killing, a mysterious scroll box that has survived centuries of fires, and the book that changed everything Taryn Cornick believes that the past--her sister's violent death, and her own ill-conceived revenge--is behind her, and she can get on with her life. She has written a successful book about the dangers that threaten libraries... but not all of the attention it brings her is good. Questions arise about a fire in the library at her grandparents' house and about the whereabouts of an ancient scroll box known as the Firestarter. A policeman, Jacob Berger, also has questions, about a cold case. Then a shadowy young man named Shift appears, forcing Taryn and Jacob toward a reckoning felt in more than one world.,Provided by publisher.