'A gritty and captivating tale of resilience, violence and the power of female solidarity' HARPER'S BAZAAR
'This unflinching debut builds relentlessly to a heart-stoppingly dramatic climax' DAILY MAIL
'Haunting, lyrical and thoroughly gripping' CLARE FISHER
'Thrilling, poetic, dark and alive - a shimmering gemstone of a debut' ALICE ASH

The three women flinch: feel something pass outside. A reek of singed fur, scorching damp. Flaming eyes. A creature. It knows these women. They feel its wanting.

From the river it comes.

To the river it always returns.

Alex is trying to hold her growing family together with a husband who is becoming more and more difficult to keep happy. Lauren hopes that the new man in her life might present a fresh start for her and her two boys. And Nancy's son has moved her into a care home where she feels entirely out of place, longing for her lost dog while dreaming of her own escape.

But there is something else at play here. Something lurking in the water or at the end of an unlit street; a shadow in a bag of strangers' clothing; a chorus of voices calling in the distance.

As each woman's world spirals from her grasp, they feel it getting closer, revealing the truth of what binds them together, and what must be done to set each of them free . . .

Rachel Bower is an award-winning poet and short story writer from Bradford. She is the author of two poetry collections and a non-fiction book on literary letters. Her poems and stories have been widely published in literary magazines, including The London Magazine, The White Review, Magma and Stand. Bower won The London Magazine Short Story Prize 2019/20 and the W&A Short Story Competition 2020. She has also been listed for the White Review Short Story Prize 2019, the RSL V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize and the BBC Short Story Prize.