Area X has rebuffed expedition after expedition for decades, refusing to reveal its secrets. As it expands alarmingly, the Southern Reach agency tasked with its investigation has collapsed in confusion. Now, one last, desperate team crosses the border, determined to reach a remote island that may yet hold vital answers.

How was Area X created, and why? Can it be stopped? In this climactic volume of the Southern Reach trilogy, reality mutates and mysteries resolve, but now that so many questions have answers, the consequences are no less profound – or terrifying.