The Wild Beneath

Coming August 4 2026 from HarperCollins

A love story as fierce and mysterious as the sea itself.

Annie MacLeod always knew she was different, growing up on a sailboat in the Pacific Northwest, navigating by stars and swimming with sea creatures. But when a catastrophic tsunami drowns her parents and swallows their boat, Annie is stranded on land and forced to confront just how eccentric she is. In the wreckage, she rescues a wordless man named Walker, who emits a hum only she can hear.

Their connection is instant, elemental. Through his touch, Annie has visions of underwater life. Wut when the coast guard comes to evacuate and Walker disappears–along with any explanation he might hold about who she really is–Annie is forced to decide between doing what's safe and expected, or staying behind to unlock a secret that feels vital to her survival.

Six years later, Annie’s left the sea and buried the past. When Walker’s otherworldly sound returns, it forces a reckoning between "normal" and the ocean life she left behind. The truth under the water is more ancient than she ever could have known.