In her striking, lyrical prose, Karin Altenberg imagines what it is to be incomplete. Set in this haunted landscape, a mesmerising tale is told of the ways in which something once broken in two may, finally, be made whole.
Returning to the bleak and beautiful Dartmoor village where he grew up, Gabriel attempts to come to terms with what he lost, long ago; haunted by his boyhood friend Michael, the tenderness of their first summers and the violent betrayal that destroyed it. But as the mysteries of the past unravel, a stranger, seeking solace, becomes bound in with Gabriel's search for acceptance and love.
'An intricately woven back-story about family legacy ... Altenberg has a knack for gleaming description ... Haunting and intimate' - Sunday Herald
'I urge you to read this fascinating, beautiful book ... Karin Altenberg's intense, disturbing writing, in which every shimmering sentence speaks the deep truth about all the things that matter ... A gripping and extraordinarily touching story ... A wonderful love story ... Exquisite' . - Country Life
Karin Altenberg was born in Sweden and moved to Britain to study in 1996. She holds a PhD in Archaeology. Her first, bestselling novel, Island of Wings, was shortlisted for the Saltire First Book Award and the Scottish Book of the Year Award and was longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction.