From the million copy #1 New York Times bestselling author of THE HISTORIAN.

THE SHADOW LAND blends history and the present in a suspenseful journey that spans three generations and reveals the dark secrets of a family’s—and a nation’s—history.

A young American woman, Alexandra Boyd, has traveled to Sofia, Bulgaria, hoping that life abroad will salve the wounds left by the loss of her beloved brother. Soon after arriving in this elegant East European city, however, she helps an elderly couple into a taxi — and realises too late that she has accidentally kept one of their bags. Inside she finds an ornately carved wooden box engraved with a name: Stoyan Lazarov. Raising the hinged lid, she discovers that she is holding an urn filled with human ashes.

As Alexandra sets out to locate the family and return this precious item, she gradually uncovers the secrets of a talented musician shattered by oppression —and she will find out all too quickly that this knowledge is fraught with its own danger.