Two brothers, Arthur and Jake, are the sons of a local farmer in the mid-1930s, when life is tough and another world war is looming. And then there is Ian, son of the local doctor, far too sure that he knows the difference between right and wrong. By now it is the Fifties, and the world has changed - a little, but not enough.

Arthur and Jake: brothers, yet worlds apart. Arthur is older, shy, dutiful, and set to inherit his father's farm. Jake is younger and reckless, a dangerous to know. When Laura arrives in their 1930s rural community, an already uneasy relationship is driven to breaking point...

Review
“A beautiful read, on every level” — Louise Doughty Independent on Sunday “Like the great 19th-century novelists of provincial life, Mary Lawson is fluent in the desperate intensity of the small, individual dramas of respectable people - and she paints an eloquent picture” Sunday Telegraph “Evokes beautifully the big joys and sorrows of most people, no matter how small their town” The Times “Discreetly powerful” — Ruth Scurr Daily Telegraph “This is a fine book - an enthralling read, both straightforward and wonderfully intricate” — Penelope Lively Guardian

Mary Lawson's first novel, Crow Lake, was admired by critics and adored by readers all over the world; translated into 19 languages and published in 21 countries, it was a New York Times bestseller and spent 75 weeks on the bestseller lists in her native Canada. She was born and brought up in a farming community in Ontario, a distant relative of L. M. Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables. Lawson came to England in 1968, is married with two grown-up sons and lives in Kingston-upon-Thames. Her acclaimed first novel was chosen by You magazine for its Reading Group and won the McKitterick Prize.