When Theo Kendal inherits the remote house where his cousin Charmery was murdered, he believes it will bring him closer to the truth about her death. It will also be the ideal place to finish his new book – but then Theo's novel starts to write itself. Theo finds himself describing a young boy called Matthew who lives in fear, inhabiting a world where people die in macabre circumstances. Then Theo discovers Matthew and his family really existed, and somehow it all connects to Charmery's death.