Sophie and her five children, still raw from tragedy, relocate from Canada to her partner Derek's childhood home. There they attempt to forge a new life together - but their new family is shadowed by grief, myth, and a lingering sense of the uncanny. Through shifting perspectives, from Jules, the delicate middle child, to fierce Ema, to volatile Angelo, debut author Juliano Zaffino paints an unforgettable portrait of love, loyalty, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.

Blending psychological suspense with intimate family drama,and with echoes of Virginia Woolf and Shirley Jackson, The Steps is both deeply moving and eerily unsettling, a meditation on trauma, family bonds, and the thin line between tenderness and violence.