Like her debut, Reservoir Bitches, Dahlia de la Cerda’s new novel tells five interconnected stories of people struggling in northern Mexico’s cartel economy. The characters are aided by a modern Medea with ‘snake tats’ and ‘giant hoop earrings’, who does not emerge from the clouds like a deus ex machina to solve deep-rooted sociopolitical issues, yet provides comfort in her role as a mythic mother.

Motherhood is central to the narrative: Medea helps both Paulina and Perla with their abortions, and Antonia through miscarriage. Meanwhile, the whereabouts of Jordán – Paulina’s narco boyfriend and Reina’s son – are left a mystery. Jordán mirrors the mythological Medea’s Jason, with similar heroic dreams that have devastating consequences.