A remarkable debut, with explosive moments of real poetry and narrative power ... an excellent novel, dramatic and engaging, with a Buchan thrills quality.' Alan Warner. Scotland, 1942. Seventeen year-old Agnes Thorne discovers that her new husband, Jeff, a campaigner for Home Rule, is determined to challenge Westminster over the issue of conscription. War is tightening its grip on the world as the young couple falls under the spell of the independence movement's charismatic new chairman, Douglas Grant. As the Scottish National Party splits, and a court hearing looms, Jeff abandons his work on a Scottish dictionary to fight to save himself and Douglas from prison. When Agnes is let in on a secret that challenges her own understanding of love, loyalty and national identity, boundaries become blurred.