Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them meets Neil Gaiman in this thrilling novel about an Iranian American girl who discovers that her father was secretly a veterinarian to mythical creatures - and that she must take up his mantle, despite the many dangers. Once was, once wasn't. So began the stories Marjan's father told her as a little girl - fables like the story of the girl who sprung a unicorn from a hunter's snare, or the nomad boy who rescued a baby shirdal. Tales of extraordinary beasts that filled her with curiosity and wonder. But Marjan's not a little girl anymore. In the wake of her father's sudden death, she is trying to hold it all together: her schoolwork, friendships, and keeping her dad's shoestring veterinary practice from going under. Then, one day, she receives a visitor who reveals something stunning: Marjan's father was no ordinary veterinarian. The creatures out of the stories he told her were real - and he traveled the world to care for them. And now that he's gone, she must take his place. Marjan steps into a secret world hidden in plain sight, where mythical creatures are bought and sold, treasured and trapped. She finds friends she never knew she needed - a charming British boy who grew up with a griffon, a runaway witch seeking magic and home - while trying to hide her double life from her old friends and classmates.