Set around a richly imagined city and its secret histories, the novel follows characters entangled with djinn, political factions, and the social order of an elemental magical society.

A city divided by rival clans becomes the stage for a power struggle where jade — a material that grants enhanced combat abilities — is the source of status and strength. The plot focuses on inter-family rivalry, questions of duty and leadership, and the consequences of wielding a fought-over supernatural resource.

Set in late-19th-century New York, the story follows two supernatural outsiders—a golem created in Europe and a jinni liberated at sea—each stranded in a city they do not understand. Both must learn to hide their natures, adopt human customs, and find ways to meet emotional needs that differ from those around them.

Six distinct narratives, each written in a different voice and set in a different time and place, are arranged so that echoes between them imply moral and causal connections across eras.

A young Nigerian woman leaves Lagos to study in the United States and must navigate new social categories, racial visibility, and evolving relationships across continents.

On a world made dangerous by recurring, civilization-shattering climate events called "Fifth Seasons," communities live under constant threat of seismic and social collapse.

Nine Americans with distinct backgrounds develop deep, formative relationships to trees; the separate life strands are arranged in a deliberately non-linear, mosaic structure that brings the characters together around forest destruction and conservation.

Set in the near future, the novel traces efforts around an institutional body created under international agreements whose mandate is to secure the rights of future generations.

A grandchild listens to a collection of long-storied tales about the Old Country while another strand follows two men who accompany a dying goddess across that realm.