The remarkable novel from the winner of the 2023 Baillie Gifford Prize
An extraordinary literary novel of flight across the Mexico/US border, from the Baillie Gifford Prize-winning author of Fire Weather.

FROM THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF FIRE WEATHER

The Jaguar's Children will be read for a long time to come. It is a major social novel'
PHILIPP MEYER, author of The Son

'A large, ambitious novel'
VANCOUVER SUN

'Unforgettable . a bold, heartbreaking novel'
TORONTO STAR

'This is what novels can do - illuminate shadowed lives, enable us to contemplate our own depths of kindness, challenge our beliefs about fate'
NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

Somewhere north of the US border, Héctor is trapped. The empty water truck, where he is hidden with fourteen other desperate people, has broken down. The exit is sealed and the coyotes seem to have vanished.

His friend César has lost consciousness but his phone still has a little battery. With it, Héctor calls and messages 'AnniMac' - the only saved American number. He begs for help, explains their dangerous journey and gradually tells their story, from rural Oaxaca to the fractured city to the distant promise of a safe future in America.

As hours turn to days, Héctor waits for a response and fights to hold on to hope. Suspenseful and fiercely compassionate, The Jaguar's Children is a cry to be heard and a defiant reminder of the human will to live.

PRAISE FOR JOHN VAILLANT'S FIRE WEATHER

'Impossible to put down'
CAL FLYN, Sunday Times

'Superb and terrifying'
KATHERINE RUNDELL, Guardian

'A must-read'
NICK RENNISON, Daily Mail