Nick Newman

An eerie, elegant, haunting novel about two elderly sisters living alone on the edge of the world, and how their lives unravel when their sanctum is breached, for fans of The Testaments and We Have Always Lived in the Castle.

Evelyn and Lily tend a large walled garden to the plans left to them in an almanac by their mother. They are entirely self-sufficient, believing that the outside world is a damaged wilderness and that they must remain behind the wall and live as their mother dictated to survive: they dare not even look beyond the wall for fear of what lurks outside. They make their home in a tiny part of their large old house, as their mother sealed off the upper levels before she died—dangers and the secrets of their past alike, locked away for decades. 

So when an intruder is discovered in the very heart of their safe place, Evie and Lily's world is turned upside down. There was not meant to be anyone out there. Who is he, where did he come from? And most importantly, what does he want?

The intruder's presence reveals the cracks in the perilous construction that Evelyn and Lily have maintained for years, out of both love and fear. In the weeks that follow, all three will suffer kindness, betrayal, and shocks that they may not survive.