In the ruins of a shattered relationship, a young man struggles to understand how he lost the woman he loves.

His story begins with a magical encounter: love at first sight. Soon, the couple move to London to build a charmed life together on the fringes of Wimbledon Common. Summer comes, and their domestic haven is transformed by the arrival of two gregarious neighbours; in the course of lazy days of sunshine and long, hedonistic nights, their households become one. But the intrusion of such strong personalities tests the lovers' faith in each other, and deep-rooted tensions are gradually revealed.

For this is also a story of how intimacy can give way to obsession, provoking fears that echo through the couple's nights, and haunt their days. As rifts develop, the young man is troubled by unsettling dreams, nightmares which force him to question the love that has sustained him, and the solidity of the world he thought he knew.

Elizabeth Garner's stunningly imaginative fiction debut is a moving portrayal of the transforming power of love, and an unforgettable evocation of the darkness that can be born of an ordinary relationship.