Gretel's life has been a tapestry of unique experiences, from growing up on a canal boat with her mother and their private language to working in the solitude of lexicography. However, a call propels her back into a past filled with submerged memories. She now must confront the wild years on the river, the enigmatic boy who joined them, and the canal thief—the bonak—cruising through her thoughts. 'Everything Under' by Daisy Johnson unravels the threads of family, fate, and the ways in which language shapes our lives, with a narrative as murky and compelling as the waters Gretel once called home.