Beyond the Baths of Stars

A dazzling literary debut that reimagines The Odyssey while asking how much control we truly have over our lives when destiny feels predetermined and the systems around us seem impossible to escape.

Eurick Ulysse feels trapped by poverty, class, and the expectations of his immigrant parents. Frustrated by dead-end jobs, unaffordable dreams of college, and the monotony of life in his South Florida neighborhood, he decides to spend the night drinking with friends on the beach. Then he pulls a delirious, half-drowned Ana María Cortez from the ocean, and everything changes.

Carefree, unconventional, and wealthy, Ana comes from a world unlike Eurick’s own. She invites him and his friends on a reckless ride through Miami filled with casinos, stolen boats, and surreal encounters. As the night unfolds, Eurick begins pushing against every boundary that has constrained him, becoming increasingly desperate to escape the life he believes has already been mapped out for him.

Will one extraordinary night of freedom reveal a different future—or only make the distance between the life Eurick wants and the one he has feel even greater?