diff --git a/src/zona/builder.py b/src/zona/builder.py
index 78300f9..de41e15 100644
--- a/src/zona/builder.py
+++ b/src/zona/builder.py
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ def discover(root: Path, out_dir: Path) -> list[Item]:
 
 
 def build(root: Path, items: list[Item]):
-    ctx = BuildCtx(root=root)
+    ctx = BuildCtx(root=root, base=root / "content")
     templater = Templater(root / "templates")
     ctx.item_map = {item.source.resolve(): item for item in items}
     # print(item_map)
diff --git a/src/zona/markdown.py b/src/zona/markdown.py
index 580c33f..8990be9 100644
--- a/src/zona/markdown.py
+++ b/src/zona/markdown.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ from marko.inline import Link, Image
 from marko.html_renderer import HTMLRenderer
 from marko.parser import Parser
 
-from zona.models import BuildCtx, Item
+from zona.models import BuildCtx
 from zona import util
 
 
@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@ class ZonaRenderer(HTMLRenderer):
         source: Path | None = None,
         ctx: BuildCtx | None = None,
     ):
-        # print("Zona renderer initializing...")
         super().__init__()
         self.resolve: bool = resolve
         if self.resolve:
@@ -26,7 +25,6 @@ class ZonaRenderer(HTMLRenderer):
             self.source: Path = source.resolve()
             self.ctx: BuildCtx = ctx
 
-    # TODO: resolve relative links and replace with url?
     @override
     def render_link(self, element: Link):
         href = element.dest
@@ -35,10 +33,24 @@ class ZonaRenderer(HTMLRenderer):
         if self.resolve:
             cur = Path(href)
             _href = href
-            resolved = (self.source.parent / cur).resolve()
+            if href.startswith("/"):
+                # resolve relative to content root
+                resolved = (self.ctx.base / cur.relative_to("/")).resolve()
+            else:
+                # treat as relative link and try to resolve
+                resolved = (self.source.parent / cur).resolve()
+            # only substitute if link points to an actual file
             if resolved.exists():
-                href = util.normalize_url(self.ctx.item_map[resolved].url)
-                print(f"Link in file {self.source}: {_href} resolved to {href}")
+                item = self.ctx.item_map.get(resolved)
+                if item:
+                    href = util.normalize_url(item.url)
+                    print(
+                        f"Link in file {self.source}: {_href} resolved to {href}"
+                    )
+                else:
+                    print(
+                        f"Warning: resolved path {resolved} not found in item map"
+                    )
         body: Any = self.render_children(element)
         return f'<a href="{href}" target="_blank">{body}</a>'
 
diff --git a/src/zona/models.py b/src/zona/models.py
index aff3530..ee1fdff 100644
--- a/src/zona/models.py
+++ b/src/zona/models.py
@@ -35,4 +35,5 @@ class Item:
 @dataclass
 class BuildCtx:
     root: Path
+    base: Path
     item_map: dict[Path, Item] = field(default_factory=dict)