The Scarabae, a mysterious family, who are not entirely human, have been forced to leave the burned ruins of their reclusive home in a remote part of England. Most are dead at the hands of Ruth, a child created through incest with the purpose of repopulating this ageing branch of the family. Scarabae must breed with Scarabae, but Ruth was a tragically misjudged experiment.

Rachaela, Ruth’s mother, trails listlessly with the survivors of the Scarabae. She is one of them but still can’t feel that she is. Yet where else does she belong? The Scarabae relocate to London, and roost within a baroque old mansion. Here, they lick their wounds, but bizarrely appear to be growing younger…

Ruth has also come to London. The people she seeks shelter with are often cruel or warped. Ruth cold-bloodedly removes them from the world. She has already learned how to kill, but not how to cover her tracks. When the Scarabae see news stories of a murderous black-haired girl, they know who’s responsible. And they must call upon another strand of the family to help them trap and control this threat to their invisibility within the world.

Malach and Althene arrive at the Scarabae mansion; beautiful and merciless beings. While Malach initiates the process of finding and containing Ruth, Rachaela struggles to resist the ambiguous allure of Althene, who is far more than she seems.

First published in 1993, and long out of print, Immanion Press is proud to release this new edition, which includes seven illustrations and an introductory essay by Freda Warrington, author of The Blood Wine series.