Long, hot summers at Tiger House, the family estate on Martha's Vineyard, characterise the lives of two cousins. We meet them first as indulgent young women full of anticipation about their futures. Helena is leaving for Hollywood and a new marriage, and Nick is being reunited with her husband, Hughes who is returning from London at the end of the second world war.

Twenty years on, they have continued to visit Tiger House, but neither has found the life they hoped for and one summer their children make a sinister discovery which changes everything. All that had been buried under the surface is now exposed and sends shockwaves throughout the families.

The story is told through five different perspectives. It is astonishingly sensual - the heat and laziness of the long, opulent summers in this privileged family leave the reader first wallowing in the narrative, and then with heart racing through the oppressive tension of the betrayal and deception. The characterisation is in parts breathtaking with stunning depiction of the tiniest mannerisms. The sense of place and of times past is also compelling and powerful. This is a beautiful and haunting book to return to again and again.