Sylvia hasn't spoken to her mother in forty years, and she is struggling with the aftermath of a doomed love affair which wrecked both her marriage and her relationship with her teenaged daughter. Antonia lives with her father, rarely speaks to her mother, and has always wanted to meet her maternal grandmother. Desperate to be close to her daughter again, Sylvia decides to take Antonia to Devon where her estranged mother still lives in rural, but oddly glamorous, isolation.

To Sylvia's dismay, her mother and daughter hit it off. And to her surprise, the estate’s much-fabled hermit Theo is still alive. Mute, mysterious, and watchful, he was a distant figure when Sylvia was growing up. But now that she is back after a forty-year absence, she has questions. Why is her mother so cruel? Why does she live so alone? And why does Theo spend his life watching over her? When Sylvia finally approaches the hermit, he agrees to talk, and reveals more than she’d ever imagined…

Set over six sweltering June days in a forgotten corner of rural Devon, this is a claustrophobic and atmospheric novel perfect for fans of Sarah Moss and Clare Keegan.