'A vivid and totally original imagination' Scotsman

'A strikingly taut and intense first novel'
London Review of Books

'A vivid and totally original imagination . . . brilliant'
Scotsman

Growing up in an isolated cottage in the hills of Cumberland, Tom knows the bitter cold of shooting expeditions with his grandfather and long evenings spent with his father and mother. But taken away from the hills to live in the small town of Thornton, Tom experiences a tumult of conflicting emotions, which he must master before he can come to terms with his identity.

"A strikingly taut and intense first novel" - London Review of Books

"The impression is one of striking individuality - the sort of originality an author achieves when he has really meditated hard about his characters, loved them, watched them, and let them grow" - Sunday Telegraph

"A vivid and totally original imagination . . . tableau after tableau is spotlit into brilliant life" - Scotsman

"Fine, tense writing derived not from books but from passionate observation of particular landscapes and people" - Spectator