How do you hold your ground when the systems around you are built to make you fall?

When Aisling accepts a PhD research position in Copenhagen, she hopes to find clarity, purpose, and maybe even a sense of belonging. What she doesn't expect is an entanglement of institutional politics, manipulative power dynamics, and a romantic connection that both soothes and complicates her life.

As she navigates funding bids, fragile alliances, and the growing pressure to prove herself, Aisling must decide where her loyalties lie—within the world of academia, in the arms of a man who may or may not be safe, or with herself. Set against the cool elegance of Copenhagen and the quiet turbulence of research culture, this intimate, slow-burning novel explores what it means to stay soft in a world that rewards sharp edges.

A sharp, emotionally resonant debut about ambition, autonomy, and the quiet power of persistence.