South Africa, 1884. William Abbey, an English doctor, watches white colonists lynch a Zulu child. As the boy dies, his mother curses William: wherever he goes, the shadow of her son will follow him. It will never stop, never rest. It can cross oceans and mountains. And if it catches him, the person he loves most in the world will die . . .

But to those in power, William's curse might be a blessing, and as the world slides towards war, William must decide what he's willing to sacrifice in order to survive.

Moving, thought-provoking and utterly gripping, Claire North's extraordinary new novel proves again that she is one of the most original and innovative voices in modern fiction.