An engrossing novel, written with superb style and insight by an award-winning author. Set in the spectacular landscape of the Pyrenees and against a menacing background of Basque violence, the story raises questions on the twin themes of neutrality and escapism.

High in the mountains, Geoffry, a retiring novelist, lives in seclusion . . . until a woman shatters his isolation. She assumes familiarity - for many years her now-dead husband has been visiting Geoffry - and so begins a revelatory series of discoveries about the lies that surround his very existence. Soon Geoffry finds himself questioning every aspect of his life, from his long-standing relationship with the secretive French woman Noelle, to his erratic writing career.

Why does he prefer solitude? Is it merely an avoidance of the complexities of ordinary life and relationships? Or does it offer, as he passionately believes, a unique perspective and insight which is central to his sense of himself?

Declan Burke-Kennedy is best known as a playwright. This is his first novel.