In the shadow of a war that rages through Europe, brothers Calum and Neil work to gather pine cones in the grounds of a Scottish estate.

When Calum releases two mutilated rabbits from a snare, he comes face to face with Duror, the gamekeeper.

In retaliation, in the depths of the wood, Duror lays a trap for the cone-gatherers. Neil prophesises that forces of evil will encroach upon the harmony of their lives.

It is a prophesy that comes true when Duror commits an act so brutal it destroys all sense of humanity in the once thriving wood.

Powerful and unforgettable, Robin Jenkins' masterpiece is a haunting story of love and violence, and an investigation of class-conflict, war and envy.