diff --git a/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/Design/IslandStyles.axaml b/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/Design/IslandStyles.axaml
index 20e7db1..75552f1 100644
--- a/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/Design/IslandStyles.axaml
+++ b/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/Design/IslandStyles.axaml
@@ -407,6 +407,8 @@
         <BrushTransition     Property="Background"  Duration="0:0:0.12" />
         <BrushTransition     Property="BorderBrush" Duration="0:0:0.12" />
         <ThicknessTransition Property="Margin"      Duration="0:0:0.15" />
+        <TransformOperationsTransition Property="RenderTransform" Duration="0:0:0.12" />
+        <DoubleTransition    Property="Opacity"     Duration="0:0:0.12" />
       </Transitions>
     </Setter>
   </Style>
@@ -417,6 +419,13 @@
     <Setter Property="BorderBrush"     Value="{StaticResource AccentBrush}" />
     <Setter Property="BorderThickness" Value="1" />
   </Style>
+  <!-- "Grabbed" row: lift + slight scale + lower opacity + shadow while the custom drag runs. -->
+  <Style Selector="Border.task-row.dragging">
+    <Setter Property="Opacity"         Value="0.55" />
+    <Setter Property="RenderTransform" Value="scale(1.03)" />
+    <Setter Property="BoxShadow"       Value="0 10 26 0 #66000000" />
+    <Setter Property="BorderBrush"     Value="{StaticResource AccentBrush}" />
+  </Style>
 
   <!-- Checkbox indicator (the 18px circle that replaces the native CheckBox template) -->
   <Style Selector="Ellipse.task-check">
diff --git a/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/ViewModels/Islands/TaskRowViewModel.cs b/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/ViewModels/Islands/TaskRowViewModel.cs
index e3c9b9c..e0721bc 100644
--- a/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/ViewModels/Islands/TaskRowViewModel.cs
+++ b/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/ViewModels/Islands/TaskRowViewModel.cs
@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ public sealed partial class TaskRowViewModel : ViewModelBase
     [ObservableProperty] private bool _parentInView = true;
     [ObservableProperty] private int _roadblockCount;
     [ObservableProperty] private bool _isRefining;
+    // Set by the custom drag while this row is being dragged — drives the "grabbed" row style.
+    [ObservableProperty] private bool _isDragging;
 
     public bool CanRefine => Status == TaskStatus.Idle && PlanningPhase == PlanningPhase.None && !IsRefining;
 
diff --git a/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/Views/Controls/DragGhostWindow.axaml b/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/Views/Controls/DragGhostWindow.axaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f573e23
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/Views/Controls/DragGhostWindow.axaml
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+<Window xmlns="https://github.com/avaloniaui"
+        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
+        x:Class="ClaudeDo.Ui.Views.Controls.DragGhostWindow"
+        SystemDecorations="None"
+        Background="Transparent"
+        TransparencyLevelHint="Transparent"
+        ShowInTaskbar="False"
+        ShowActivated="False"
+        Topmost="True"
+        Focusable="False"
+        IsHitTestVisible="False"
+        CanResize="False">
+  <!-- Translucent, slightly tilted snapshot of the dragged row that follows the cursor
+       across the whole screen (incl. over the separate Mission Control window). -->
+  <Image x:Name="GhostImage" Opacity="0.7"
+         HorizontalAlignment="Center" VerticalAlignment="Center"
+         RenderTransformOrigin="0.5,0.5">
+    <Image.RenderTransform>
+      <RotateTransform Angle="-6"/>
+    </Image.RenderTransform>
+  </Image>
+</Window>
diff --git a/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/Views/Controls/DragGhostWindow.axaml.cs b/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/Views/Controls/DragGhostWindow.axaml.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0d81813
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/Views/Controls/DragGhostWindow.axaml.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+using Avalonia;
+using Avalonia.Controls;
+using Avalonia.Media;
+
+namespace ClaudeDo.Ui.Views.Controls;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Borderless, transparent, topmost, click-through window that hosts the translucent drag
+/// "ghost" — a snapshot of the row being dragged. It never activates (so the source window
+/// keeps pointer capture) and is repositioned to the screen cursor on every captured move.
+/// </summary>
+public partial class DragGhostWindow : Window
+{
+    public DragGhostWindow() => InitializeComponent();
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Show <paramref name="image"/> at <paramref name="logicalWidth"/>×<paramref name="logicalHeight"/>
+    /// with <paramref name="pad"/> of slack around it so the tilt isn't clipped by the window bounds.
+    /// </summary>
+    public void SetImage(IImage image, double logicalWidth, double logicalHeight, double pad)
+    {
+        GhostImage.Source = image;
+        GhostImage.Width = logicalWidth;
+        GhostImage.Height = logicalHeight;
+        GhostImage.Margin = new Thickness(pad);
+        Width = logicalWidth + pad * 2;
+        Height = logicalHeight + pad * 2;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/Views/Controls/DragHitTest.cs b/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/Views/Controls/DragHitTest.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8be0580
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/Views/Controls/DragHitTest.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+using System;
+using Avalonia;
+
+namespace ClaudeDo.Ui.Views.Controls;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Pure, DPI-aware screen-rectangle hit testing for the custom drag. Kept free of any view
+/// dependency so the "is the cursor over that window?" decision is unit-testable.
+/// </summary>
+public static class DragHitTest
+{
+    /// <summary>
+    /// True when <paramref name="cursor"/> (physical px) falls inside a window whose top-left is
+    /// <paramref name="position"/> (physical px) and whose <paramref name="clientSize"/> is in
+    /// logical units at the given <paramref name="scaling"/>.
+    /// </summary>
+    public static bool WindowContains(PixelPoint position, Size clientSize, double scaling, PixelPoint cursor)
+    {
+        var right = position.X + (int)Math.Round(clientSize.Width * scaling);
+        var bottom = position.Y + (int)Math.Round(clientSize.Height * scaling);
+        return cursor.X >= position.X && cursor.X < right
+            && cursor.Y >= position.Y && cursor.Y < bottom;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/Views/Controls/TaskDragController.cs b/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/Views/Controls/TaskDragController.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d4020e0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/Views/Controls/TaskDragController.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+using System;
+using Avalonia;
+using Avalonia.Controls;
+using Avalonia.Media.Imaging;
+
+namespace ClaudeDo.Ui.Views.Controls;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Owns the lifecycle of the translucent follower window used by the custom task-row drag.
+/// Snapshots the dragged control to a bitmap, shows a borderless topmost click-through window
+/// that tracks the screen cursor across every top-level window, and tears it down on release.
+/// </summary>
+internal sealed class TaskDragController
+{
+    // Slack around the snapshot so the tilted card isn't clipped by the window's own bounds.
+    private const double Pad = 36;
+
+    private DragGhostWindow? _ghost;
+    private PixelPoint _grabOffset; // physical px from the ghost window's top-left to the cursor
+
+    public bool IsActive => _ghost is not null;
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Begin the ghost. <paramref name="grabPointInSource"/> is the cursor position inside
+    /// <paramref name="source"/> (logical px) at grab time so the snapshot stays under the cursor.
+    /// </summary>
+    public void Begin(Control source, Point grabPointInSource, double scaling)
+    {
+        End();
+
+        var size = source.Bounds.Size;
+        if (size.Width < 1 || size.Height < 1) return;
+
+        var bitmap = Snapshot(source, scaling);
+        if (bitmap is null) return;
+
+        _ghost = new DragGhostWindow();
+        _ghost.SetImage(bitmap, size.Width, size.Height, Pad);
+
+        _grabOffset = new PixelPoint(
+            (int)Math.Round((grabPointInSource.X + Pad) * scaling),
+            (int)Math.Round((grabPointInSource.Y + Pad) * scaling));
+
+        _ghost.Show();
+    }
+
+    public void MoveTo(PixelPoint screenCursor)
+    {
+        if (_ghost is null) return;
+        _ghost.Position = new PixelPoint(screenCursor.X - _grabOffset.X, screenCursor.Y - _grabOffset.Y);
+    }
+
+    public void End()
+    {
+        _ghost?.Close();
+        _ghost = null;
+    }
+
+    private static RenderTargetBitmap? Snapshot(Control source, double scaling)
+    {
+        var size = source.Bounds.Size;
+        var pixelSize = new PixelSize(
+            Math.Max(1, (int)Math.Ceiling(size.Width * scaling)),
+            Math.Max(1, (int)Math.Ceiling(size.Height * scaling)));
+        var rtb = new RenderTargetBitmap(pixelSize, new Vector(96 * scaling, 96 * scaling));
+        rtb.Render(source);
+        return rtb;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/Views/Islands/TaskRowView.axaml b/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/Views/Islands/TaskRowView.axaml
index c4a5cf6..30915c2 100644
--- a/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/Views/Islands/TaskRowView.axaml
+++ b/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/Views/Islands/TaskRowView.axaml
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@
       <Border Grid.Column="1" Classes="task-row"
               Margin="0"
               Classes.selected="{Binding IsSelected}"
+              Classes.dragging="{Binding IsDragging}"
               Classes.done="{Binding Done}">
         <Border.ContextMenu>
           <ContextMenu>
diff --git a/tests/ClaudeDo.Ui.Tests/DragHitTestTests.cs b/tests/ClaudeDo.Ui.Tests/DragHitTestTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f26b4d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/ClaudeDo.Ui.Tests/DragHitTestTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+using Avalonia;
+using ClaudeDo.Ui.Views.Controls;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace ClaudeDo.Ui.Tests;
+
+public class DragHitTestTests
+{
+    [Fact]
+    public void Cursor_inside_window_rect_is_contained()
+    {
+        var pos = new PixelPoint(100, 100);
+        var client = new Size(800, 600);
+        Assert.True(DragHitTest.WindowContains(pos, client, 1.0, new PixelPoint(500, 400)));
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Cursor_outside_window_rect_is_not_contained()
+    {
+        var pos = new PixelPoint(100, 100);
+        var client = new Size(800, 600);
+        Assert.False(DragHitTest.WindowContains(pos, client, 1.0, new PixelPoint(50, 50)));   // above-left
+        Assert.False(DragHitTest.WindowContains(pos, client, 1.0, new PixelPoint(950, 400))); // past right edge
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Top_left_is_inclusive_bottom_right_is_exclusive()
+    {
+        var pos = new PixelPoint(100, 100);
+        var client = new Size(800, 600);
+        Assert.True(DragHitTest.WindowContains(pos, client, 1.0, new PixelPoint(100, 100)));   // top-left corner
+        Assert.False(DragHitTest.WindowContains(pos, client, 1.0, new PixelPoint(900, 700)));  // bottom-right corner
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Scaling_expands_the_physical_rect()
+    {
+        var pos = new PixelPoint(100, 100);
+        var client = new Size(800, 600); // logical
+        // At 2x the right edge is 100 + 1600 = 1700, so a point at x=1600 now falls inside.
+        Assert.False(DragHitTest.WindowContains(pos, client, 1.0, new PixelPoint(1600, 400)));
+        Assert.True(DragHitTest.WindowContains(pos, client, 2.0, new PixelPoint(1600, 400)));
+    }
+}