Owen Sheers

The author embarks on a journey through Zimbabwe to better understand the life of an obscure relative, Arthur Cripps, a poet and missionary to Rhodesia. At the start of the tale is a love story and an abandoned daughter.

After the sudden loss of his wife, Michael Turner moves to London and develops a close friendship with the Nelson family next door. This friendship at first seems to offer the prospect of healing, but then a catastrophic event changes everything. Michael is left bearing the burden of a secret he must keep, but the truth can only be kept at bay for so long.

It is 1944 and Britain is under Nazi occupation. In a remote Welsh valley the farmers’ wives wake to find their husbands gone. As the harsh winter weather arrives the women are forced to co-operate with a German patrol but the delicate peace is soon shattered.