Megan and her 8 year old brother, Brand, have lost their mum to a lingering illness six months before the story begins. Each has a guilty secret about her death, and their father, an artist and author of graphic novels, rents a gothic mansion deep in the country where he hopes they can all grieve in peace. There are soon spooky goings-on, made spookier by the house's ambiance and the housekeeper Alyson's witchcraft. The language is vivid: an old mirror has a 'cataract of milky dust' and market stalls in the village 'sprouted like toadstools in the square'. Full of legend and history, the story owes much to the supernatural, and Megan and Brand and their father find the peace they sorely need through the exorcism of the ghost that has haunted the house for over 300 years. The children's belief in their guilt, their need for their mum's forgiveness, and their ultimate acceptance of that forgiveness - even though by supernatural means - has a healing quality. A well-told tale, winner of the Fidler First Novel Award.