‘The Face calls things to it,’ Phoebe said, ‘and this house is in their path. You have to be careful.’

Florence has been summoned to live with her widowed brother-in-law and wayward niece in Haltington, a village with something uncanny in the air. According to locals, the chalk face carved into the hillside protects them from malevolent spirits. So long as it is maintained, all will be well.

The First World War has decimated the men of the village, and when the Face’s last caretaker dies, her sons both lost in France, there is nobody to replace her. Still, it’s only an old wives’ tale. Isn’t it?

Kit is an artist – unconventional, androgynous and traumatised by the events of the war. She seeks peace, and a muse – will she find both in the shape of Florence?

Under the chalk, something is stirring…

From the #1 bestselling author of THE BINDING, this is a dark, compelling and deeply moving novel about grief, identity and forbidden desires.