The setting of the novel is a farm in an unknown country but you can substitute any one where civil unrest and atrocities abound. We meet Tom, the quiet, indecisive and browbeat son, his father - a tyrannical and vulgar individual and Carine, a manipulative and selfish woman who plays both men to get just what she wants. Don't let these characters put you off - the story is excellent, gruesome in parts but a real page-turner!