A devastating love story. A bewitching twist on history. A blood-drenched hunt for purpose, power, and redemption.

1785. Twenty years ago, Sebastian Grave of Larnaca – a reserved man of arcane talents and many centuries, host to a spirit by the name of Sarmodel – brought himself to the remote French province of Gévaudan. The local Baron d’Ocerne and Bishop of Mende had called for volunteers to hunt the Beast, a monstrous creature believed to be responsible for the escalating and widespread slaughter of livestock and, now, citizens. Signing himself up to the Hunt, Sebastian found himself unexpectedly partnered with the fun-loving and handsome young nobleman Antoine d’Ocerne.

In the twenty years since they combined forces, the two men have not spoken. Until, one day, Antoine’s son Jacques appears at Sebastian’s door, invoking the old contract and Sebastian’s promise of help. For the Beast is back – and Gévaudan has once more been seized in its grip of terror. Sebastian left behind a dark secret in those wintry mountains, and should rightfully heed Sarmodel’s advice to stay well away. But one thing time cannot break is the bonds of the heart, and the lure to see Antoine once again is too great to resist.

Not all monsters, it seems, will stay buried.

‘Charming, haunting, ambitious’ –T. KINGFISHER