Pearl Winter hasn't been outside in forty-three years.

Since she arrived in Dartmoor as a teenager, her isolated cottage has been her whole world. A place of safety. But now Pearl is utterly alone - except for the postman, the local crows, and her memories of the summer when her life turned upside down.

Connor Matthews feels like a stranger in his own home.

Since his mother's death he's been adrift - from the life that's been mapped out for him, and from his dad's new girlfriend, who is busy painting him out of the family, one wall at a time.

But when Connor takes a summer job as Pearl's gardener, their unexpected friendship opens the door to a fresh start for them both. If they can just take the first step . . .