"A fantastically tightly written, read-every-word novel . . . As a psychological thriller, it's as close to wonderful as anything I've recently read" (The Guardian).

In the winter of 1881, John Stannard, a young architect, is in self-imposed exile in a remote English village, carrying out repairs to the parish church. Arrogant and insensitive to what he considers superstition and sentimental attachment to the past, he soon begins to inflict serious damage on the ancient building as well as on those with whom he comes into contact—most notably the beautiful, ambitious, local girl Ann Rosewell. This is the mesmerizing tale of a man who clings ferociously to his warped notion of civilized behavior, unwilling to admit his need for love. Set in a vividly evoked landscape and taut with foreboding, Jem Poster's striking first novel pits reason against emotion, progress against preservation, and explores our capacity for invention and self-delusion—the stories we tell each other and the stories we tell ourselves.

"[A] dazzling debut . . . Wholly involving from start to finish." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Written in lavishly beautiful prose, this is a consistently tense tale of rationality, self-delusion, and epidemic superstition." —Booklist