The Cassandra, Paperback

Sharma Shields' The Cassandra follows a woman who goes to work in a top secret research facility during World War II, only to be tormented by visions of what the mission will mean for humankind.

Mildred Groves is an unusual young woman. Gifted and cursed with the ability to see the future, Mildred runs away from home to become a secretary at the Hanford Research Center in the early 1940s. Hanford, a construction camp in remote South Central Washington, exists to test and manufacture a mysterious product that will aid the war effort. Only the top generals and scientists know that this product is processed plutonium, for use in the first atomic bombs.

Mildred is delighted to be part of a communal effort after a lifetime spent as an outsider. But her new life takes a dark turn when she starts to have prophetic dreams. As the men she works for come closer to achieving their goals, her visions intensify, and she is forced to make a choice: to do nothing, or to summon the courage to question the status quo.

This reimagining of the Greek Cassandra myth is based on a real World War II compound that the author researched meticulously. A timely novel about patriarchy and militancy, The Cassandra looks deep into man's capacity for destruction, and the resolve and compassion it takes to challenge the powerful.

Sharma Shields holds an MFA from the University of Montana. She is the author of the short story collection Favorite Monster, winner of the 2011 Autumn House Fiction Prize, and the novel The Sasquatch Hunters' Almanac, winner of the Washington State Book Award. Her work has appeared in The Kenyon Review, The Iowa Review, Electric Literature, and more. Shields has worked in independent bookstores and public libraries throughout Washington State. She lives in Spokane, Washington with her husband and children.