The introduction starts from the position that transitional justice is in crisis. Core elements of the paradigm have been subjected to sustained critique, yet as is often the case there is much less commentary that goes beyond critique to set out in a comprehensive fashion what an alternative approach might look like. This introduction and volume discusses one such alternative: transformative justice. The introduction places this quest in the wider context of ongoing fall-out from the 2008 global economic and political crisis, and the failure of social justice advocates to respond with imagination and ambition. The introduction unpacks the proposed alternative by addressing four questions – Given that alternatives can perform various functions, does transformative justice seek to replace or reform transitional justice? How should transformative justice engage with the state and state institutions? Is its main focus on the past, and redress for the past, or does it adopt a different temporal register? How can a complex, holistic agenda be delivered in practice? The introduction represents a call for imagination and ambition at both micro- and macro-levels in response to the limitations of transitional justice and the challenges of the current political moment.