In this alternative history, the West is being re-settled after a Great Flu kills off a large swath of the U.S. population. Growing the population to do this work is the highest priority to families; pressure on young women to have babies is beyond extreme. With medical knowledge in its nascency, and the stakes running high, women are subjected to abuse and accusations of witchcraft, if pregnancy doesn’t come along quickly after the wedding. Since the Great Flu of sixty years before might have had some impact on the fertility of men and women, it seems terribly unfair to lay the blame entirely on the women, and exact punishment for circumstances beyond anyone’s control. North seems to suggest that such is the way a desperate society reacts to scarcity, in this case, unpredictable, unexplained infertility.

Living in the Dakotas with her mother and three sisters, Ada celebrates her wedding to a young man she cares for and is attracted to. Trying to make babies is pleasurable for the couple, albeit under the watchful eye of the groom’s parents, under their roof. When no baby arrives after a year, things grow desperate quickly. Think The Handmaid’s Tale, but you’re an infertile handmaid (no consideration that he might be shooting blanks.) Ada’s mother, the local midwife, sees the risk to Ada’s life, and after a failed Plan B, gets her whisked off to the local convent. Ada’s dream is to pursue a life as a woman’s doctor, understanding from her observations during attending many births with her mother that scientific principles she can barely intuit must be at work in fertility. She is determined to make that her life’s work, to understand, and offer hope to women in her plight.

This dream leads her to the Hole in the Wall Gang, led by the mystifying Kid. Here, in this remote valley hideaway, are a band of misfit women, all of whole have suffered in this society, and escaped for self-preservation. Gender is fluid here, races are mixed, sexuality is impermanent. Trying to create an alternative society where no one is judged for their choices of lifestyle, gender or sexuality, the Kid, waxing poetic and messianic, inspires his followers to endure deprivation and take considerable risks all in the name of their wished-for Shangri-la. At first seeking refuge, Ada grows to hope that her contribution to the group will lead to the opportunity to pursue her dream.

This book is not at all what I thought it would be. I thought I was in for a female western, a fun romp with women in the lead. It is a well-told story, and many conventions of the genre are present—all the horse riding, gun slinging, and beautiful landscapes. I was not expecting North to use this as a morality tale, cautioning us on the politics of gender and sexuality, the potential of a society to go off the rails regarding reproductive rights. For those purposes, the author was clever in her mashup of the western genre and current cultural issues. It just wasn’t what I was up for, so I come away disappointed, no fault of the author. The end is hopeful and satisfying. Reader, be warned—this is not the western you think it might be. I was disappointed, but you have been warned. Recommended only to those who would enjoy such fare.