A UK debut by a critically acclaimed author - a novel that combines lyrical storytelling with urgent contemporary themes of gender violence, tradition and patriarchy


In the Black Mountains of Pakistan, the discovery of an unconscious, unknown man is the first snowball in an avalanche of chaos. The head of the village is beset with problems - including the injured stranger - and failing to find his way out. His daughter receives a love letter and incurs her father's wrath. A lame boy foretells disaster, but nobody is listening. Trapped in terrible danger, a wolf-dog is battling ice and death to save a soldier's life. Beaten by her addict husband for bearing him only daughters, a woman is pregnant again - but can this child save her?

As the elements turn on the village, can humanity find a way to co-exist with nature that doesn't destroy either of them?