Swamp Louisiana, 1851

Two friends struggle to survive the treacherous journey across the snake- and alligator-infested Louisiana bayou in the seventh book in the Survivors series.

Bayou Teche, 1851.

No one in Lily LeGrand’s Cajun community is willing to help search for Paul Courville, who is missing in the bayou along with his mean-spirited older brothers, William and Mark. Why should they? Paul’s wealthy plantation-owner father has made no secret of his disdain for Cajuns. But Paul has always been kind to Lily, defending her against his brothers’ merciless taunts and humiliating pranks—and Lily refuses to turn her back on him when his life is in danger.

On her own in the maze of the dangerous bayou, Lily knows she has more to fear than her father’s wrath. Her treacherous journey will test both her knowledge of the swamp and her courage. Can she find Paul before it’s too late?

Kathleen Duey’s works include the middle grade American Diaries and Survivors series, as well as the well-reviewed chapter book series The Unicorn’s Secret and its companion series, The Faeries’ Promise. She is also the National Book Award–nominated author of Skin Hunger. She lives in Fallbrook, California.

Karen A. Bale grew up in southern California and graduated from the University California Riverside. She has written seventeen historical romances, including the successful seven-book Sweet Medicine’s Prophecy series. She has done freelance work for several years, including helping to write two nonfiction books. Karen still resides in southern California, ten miles from the Pacific Ocean.