Shelter: ‘One of the year’s hottest debuts

Led here by necessity, she knows she cannot stay. Brought against his will, he never wants to leave.

Early spring 1944. Connie Granger has escaped her bombed-out city home, finding refuge in the Women’s Timber Corps. For her, this remote community must now serve a secret purpose.

Seppe, an Italian prisoner of war, is haunted by his memories. In the forest camp, he finds a strange kind of freedom.

Their meeting signals new beginnings. But as they are drawn together, the world outside their forest haven is being torn apart. Old certainties are crumbling, and both must now make a life-defining choice.

What price will they pay for freedom? What will they fight to protect?

A captivating and tender novel about love, hope and how we find solace in the most troubled times.