'Niven Govinden is a true force of fierceness and beauty' Olivia Laing 'A vital book' Andrew McMillan 'Vivid prose reinventing ideas of motherhood, belonging and taking us into the community of drag balls and protest, both personal and political' Jenni Fagan 'A powerful and poetic book' Kerry Hudson On the steps of New York's City Hall, roughly two decades after their 90s heyday, five 'Mothers' sit in silent protest. They are the aging guardians of the counter-cultural vogue ball community - men who have shaped the lives of countless 'Children' who have fled problematic homes to discover their gender and sexuality in the safe spaces of the 'Houses'. Over the years, the Mothers have fed, clothed, chastised, praised and educated the Children, thrust them under the spotlights in spectacular costumes, showing them the suspicious, judgemental world can melt into temporary glory, if only they can survive the shade dealt out by the Callers. But though it feels like times have surely changed - tolerance and kindness seemingly everywhere - Children have been going missing. Over the years they have disappeared from the Houses, their absences left stubbornly uninvestigated by the police. And so the Mothers have come to City Hall for one last effort: to pray silently, to protest their loss, refusing to leave until justice is served and their cause is acknowledged. Taunted by both police and spectators at first - after all what can five silent old men in wigs do against the circumlocutions of City bureaucracy? - over the days and nights that follow, the Mothers begin to command respect, even awe as their long vigil continues. Sometimes by their side, sometimes watching from City Hall's windows is Teddy.

Raised by the Mothers but now a tax-paying city clerk, he is charged by those on the 'inside' to keep an eye on the silent demonstration, whilst simultaneously swearing allegiance to his Mothers on the outside. It is Teddy's job to negotiate an uneasy truce, to let the protest take place whilst protecting everyone's greater interests. It is a task that will lead to devastating consequences.