First published 2022
Sarah builds walls around her property and her heart after the world shifts beneath her feet. The small English town where she has lived for decades no longer feels safe or familiar. Her neighbors eye each other with suspicion. Supply chains break down. Old certainties crumble. Sarah transforms her cottage into a fortress, stockpiling food and water, reinforcing doors and windows. But physical barriers cannot keep out loneliness or the pull of human connection. When a stranger appears at her gate seeking shelter, Sarah must choose between the security of isolation and the risk of trust. Her decision will test everything she believes about survival, community, and what it means to truly live rather than merely endure.
Genres: fiction, dystopia, contemporary, 21st-century
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, survival
Setting: England
Period: Contemporary
254 pages · Paperback · Gretton Books