What happens when the past and the present collide? Dominic Rose, a teacher and a recluse, lives in an old cottage at the edge of the woods with his frail, bedridden mother. A loner, Dominic has spent decades pining after the love of his life, Clara who vanished while staying with her grandparents. And rumours about Dominic persist... When Kate Winston and her family move to North Yorkshire, it should have been a fresh start. But when Kate's son, Alexander, makes friends with a local boy who has a reputation for being difficult, a chain of events is set in place that will alter the lives of those involved forever. Soon Alexander is being led astray and then the two boys turn their attentions to their fragile teacher Dominic. But the boys are going to learn that actions have consequences...and sometimes they can be deadly.