Three lives, three turning points: this stunning debut novel charts those moments that change the course of a life for ever. Includes Reading Group Notes.

Craig was a young lifeguard in Germany when two children died on his watch. It should never have happened.

Taught to swim by a grandfather whose life was defined by a tragedy at sea, Craig is totally at home in the water. Now he is relishing a golden summer on a stunning beach far from home. And yet.... a sense of unease nags at Craig, casting shadows over his freedom: the beer-drinking, the practical jokes, his tentative romance.

Craig's sense of foreboding increases when Gerd, a refugee of the cold war shares his story. As the long, sultry day contrinues, unsettled by his friends unexpected revelation and by the arrival of an aggressive stranger, Craig strugges to remain focused. But events have already begun to spiral beyond his control...

'A thought-provoking literary page turner'
Sydney Morning Herald

'And all the while we await 'the incident' - which when it comes is beautifully written, well paced and surprising. proof that Macleod iis a fiction strategist of talent'
Tom Adair, Scotsman

A hauntingly tragic, beautifully written first novel examining how much our future is governed by the past.