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.