Virtue

True Grit by way of Sarah Waters, Virtue considers the origins of a cowboy, and what it takes to become one, in the dying years of the Wild West.

1892, New Mexico. Clementine Hollow stands over the body of her murdered brother. Since before she can remember, she has watched the horizon and fantasised about what form her freedom might take – now it's here, in blood and violence.

Disguised as a boy in her dead brother's clothes, Clem flees her family's ranch, taking with her the money his killers are chasing. For the first time in her life she's alone in the world, until she meets seasoned cowboy Connie Glass.

Connie takes Clem under his wing and teaches her the skills she needs to survive. Together, they traverse the open plains and mining towns of New Mexico, ending up in a small haven called Virtue.

There, as Connie settles back into old habits, Clem finally finds a sense of belonging – and maybe even a chance at love. But she soon discovers what Connie already knows well: the past isn't so easy to leave behind and where cowboys go, trouble always follows.

A powerful exploration of gender, found family and identity, this sweeping and character-driven debut heralds the arrival of an imaginative new voice in fiction. The perfect next read for fans of Claudia Craven’s Lucky Red and Anna North’s Outlawed.