If there's one thing Jayne Ferguson has learnt in her life, it's that every blessing comes with a curse. She married the most handsome man on the isle of St Kilda - but he's a bully. She inherited her mother's gift of second sight - but only ever forsees her fellow islanders' deaths. She has learnt to keep to herself, treading in the shadows and shirking the highs for fear of the lows.
When a needless death strikes at the heart of her home, Jayne's bad marriage becomes worse and she finds solace with an unlikely friend. Glimmers of happiness tantalise her, though there's no possibility for anything more, especially once word comes of St Kilda's evacuation.
But as the day draws near, tensions on the island rise. Secrets are being forced to the surface, passions and enmities erupting with equal violence. A man is killed, as Jayne knew he would be, and those closest to her are implicated.
On the mainland, the villagers scatter into new lives, hoping distance means refuge. But then Jayne has another of her dreams and she knows the past isn't done with them yet.