On their twelfth birthday, twins Rathlin and Breacán Doherty witness a tragic accident that kills their parents in the forest behind their farm in Kintyre, Scotland. Despite their unique bond, sister and brother pull apart as they deal with their loss and grief. Separated in their teens, the emotional distance widens and is filled with secrets and lies. As they approach their twenty-seventh birthday, they come back together to fight to save their beloved Ballynoe, the house in which they grew up. Its landscape, rich in folklore, and the ghosts of their parents, binds them and tears them apart. Against the backdrop of vivid childhood memories, the twins eventually reveal their own secretes and uncover those of their family, revelations which are shocking and far-reaching in their consequences.

‘Age-old themes of betrayal and family violence are skilfully mined to bring new insights for the contemporary reader. A story of love and passion, hate and despair, jealousy and guilt, violence and tragedy, beautifully told, about the past’s impact on the present and the future, and the unbearable burden of unbearable losses.’

– Hilary McCollum, author of Golddigger.