WINNER OF THE WOMENS PRIZE FOR FICTIONTense dark and intensely gripping . . . written so seductively that passages sing out from the page Sunday TimesCathy and her brother Rob dont know why they have been abandoned by their parents. Alone in their grandfathers decaying country house they roam the wild grounds freely with minds attuned to the rural wilderness. Lost in their own private world they seek and find new lines to cross.But as the First World War draws closer crimes both big and small threaten the delicate refuge they have built. Cathy will do anything to protect their dark Eden from anyone or anything that threatens to destroy it.An electrifying and original talent a writer whose style is characterized by a lyrical dreamy intensity GuardianStops you in your tracks with the beauty of its writing ObserverHas a strong and sensuous magic The Times Her spellbinding lyrical prose is close to poetry Daily Mail