It is 1961 and the rural Dutch province of Overijssel is quiet. Bomb craters have been filled, buildings reconstructed, and the war is truly over. Living alone in her late mothers country home, Isabel knows her life is as it should beled by routine and discipline. But all is upended when her brother Louis brings his graceless new girlfriend Eva, leaving her at Isabels doorstep as a guest, to stay for the season.

Eva is Isabels antithesis. Isabel develops a fury-fueled obsession, and when things start disappearing around the house Isabels suspicions begin to spiral. In the sweltering peak of summer, Isabels paranoia gives way to infatuationleading to a discovery that unravels all Isabel has ever known. The war might not be well and truly over after all, and neither Evanor the house in which they liveare what they seem.

Longlisted for The Booker Prize.