ABOUT
THE BOOK

On the morning of Eva McEwens’s birth, six magpies congregate in the apple tree outside the window, a bad omen, according to legend. That night Eva’s mother dies, leaving her to be raised by her aunt and heartsick father in the small town of Troon, Scotland.
Eva’s peaceful childhood is disrupted the day a woman and a girl mysteriously appear in her garden. Over the years, the two make frequent visits – invisible to everyone else, at first they seem benevolent, helping to tidy her room and collect the hens’ eggs. But as Eva grows older, her visitors’ intentions become increasingly unclear: Do they wish to protect or harm her? Is their meddling in her best interests or prompted by darker motivations?
In the shadow of World War II, Eva studies nursing in Glasgow, tending to the injured soldiers. But when she falls in love with a young plastic surgeon, her companions seem to have a very different idea as to her fate, and once again she finds herself unable to resist their pull.