Shona Blake thought she'd left her violent past behind. But when she moves in with Richard, the man who once exploited her darkest moments for his own success, old wounds are reopened. In the crumbling seaside town of Hawksbridge, Shona finds kinship with the eccentric Gifford family living illegally in a derelict building. Their stories of survival give her the courage to paint again until she discovers a body wrapped in carpet, and everything starts to unravel. Richard knows her secrets. He's documented every shameful detail of her childhood, from the fire she set at fifteen to the deaths that followed. Now he's weaponising that knowledge, jeopardizing her relationships and her future. But Shona has learned something important from the misfits of Hawksbridge- sometimes the only way to break free is to embrace the darkness you've been running from. As New Year's Day dawns, Shona faces a choice that will define who she really is. Because some shadows can't be escaped they can only be owned.