He loses his mother at ten. His father deserted them at birth. His brother despises his life. The city ignored his existence. What is he to do?Malum is a young and impoverished boy struggling to find his place within a shifting society that too struggles with its own identity. Malum has only known the stateless Meditteranean island he calls home-- a place that exists outside the structures of state and society of old. It is instead controlled by a Renaissance-influenced merchant class that seeks to establish itself like the nobility that had never been there before. His father's name could be his greatest tool on this island, but he refuses to claim the name that deserted him and his mother. Now that he has lost his mother, he must go into his house as Malum has nothing else.Can Malum overcome the island's anachronistic glass ceiling and find his place in this tumultuous time period? This historical drama explores the clashing of period-specific ideals within an isolated, fringe society, allowing a close look at the implications of such and what they may reveal about contemporary Western society. Malum is an engaging and illuminating journey that allows the reader to join in with this boy as they explore the complexities of this transitory and defining period in Western society.