A cynical Culler with a mission to exterminate a small, magical town finds her plans repeatedly thwarted by their resident mad wizard, in this heartfelt and humorous cozy fantasy debut that explores what it means to be human.

Essa knows every Culler—the beings who keep the balance of mortal death in check—must prove themselves in the field. Being the prodigy that she is, Essa figures completing her assignment to cull the entire population of the quaint town of Honeybloom will take no time at all. She’ll be done before she or her fluffy familiar, Min, can so much as acclimate to the mortal plane.

Frustratingly, her brilliant plans to bring about the demise of the townsfolk get repeatedly thwarted by how tight-knit the community is. But the particular thorn in her side is Raff, their vain, pink-haired mad wizard who seems to stick his nose into everything where Essa is concerned.

The longer Essa stays in Honeybloom, the more she’s influenced by all the complicated feelings, sensations, and urges that come along with being human. Because surely Essa can’t actually be starting to like Raff and the townspeople? That would be very bad indeed, as unbeknownst to her, Raff is close to achieving his life’s goal: stopping death altogether. And how could love ever bloom between a Culler destined to bring death and a chaotic wizard determined to cure it entirely?