Fleeing Melbourne for a village in the Yorkshire Dales had felt right. Sanctuary, I’d thought.

But nowhere is as straightforward as it first appears.

When Giselle flees to the north Yorkshire village of Hollydale, she doesn’t give much thought to what she might find there. She’s more concerned with what she’s leaving behind – a toxic marriage, the loss of her beloved sister, Lina, and the cloud of suspicion over the circumstances of Lina’s death.

But in this small community she makes new and fascinating friends, chief among them Margaret, a wealthy elderly local who lives in Chatswood Hall, the mansion perched on a hill above the village, and Tom, the local handyman. Giselle hopes to start life over, but the past cannot be outrun and her husband will not be cut loose, threatening to arrive in Hollydale at any moment.

When a bomb explodes on the one road that leads to her cottage, Giselle realises that her Hollydale life is larger and more complicated than she’d understood.

A story about intergenerational friendship between women, coercive relationships and power, and the endless possibilities new connections can bring.

Kirsten Alexander is the author of Half Moon Lake and Riptides. Her third novel, After the Fall, will be published by Ultimo Press in February 2025.

Kirsten works as an editor, copywriter, and writer. She lives in Melbourne with her two sons.