Morlancourt, Northern France, 1920

In the aftermath of the world's bloodiest conflict, a small contingent of battle-worn soldiers remains in France. Captain James Reid and his men are tasked with the identification and burial of innumerable corpses as they come to terms with the events of the past four years.

The stark contrast between the realities of burying men in France and the reports of honouring the dead back in Britain is all too clear. But it is only when the daily routine is interrupted by a visit from two women, both seeking solace from their grief, that the men are forced to acknowledge the part they too have played.

With his trademark unerring precision, Robert Edric explores the emotional hinterland which lies behind the work done by the War Graves Commission in the wake of the First World War.

Robert Edric was born in 1956. His novels includeWinter Garden(James Tait Black Prize winner 1986),A New Ice Age(runner-up for theGuardianFiction Prize 1986),The Book of the Heathen(winner of the WH Smith LIterary Award 2000),Peacetime(longlisted for the Booker Prize 2002),Gathering the Water(longlisted for the Booker Prize 2006) andIn Zodiac Light (shortlisted for the Dublin Impac Prize 2010). His most recent novel isSanctuary. He lives in Yorkshire.

With trademark precision, Robert Edric brings to life the tragic and noble work of the War Graves Commission in the wake of the Great War.