Once on a winter's night many years ago after a heavy snow the devil passed through the Scottish fishing town of Coldhaven leaving a trail of dark hoofprints across the streets and roofs of the sleeping town. Michael Gardiner has lived in Coldhaven all his life but still feels like an outsider a blow-in. When Moira Birnie decides that her abusive husband is the devil and then kills herself and her two young sons a terrible chain of events begins. Michael's infatuation with Moira's teenage daughter takes him on a journey towards a defined fate where he is forced to face his present and then finally his past...

John Burnside was among the most acclaimed writers of his generation. His novels, short stories, poetry and memoirs won numerous awards, including the Geoffrey Faber Memorial, Saltire Scottish Book of the Year and, in 2023, he received the David Cohen Prize for a lifetime's achievement in literature. In 2011 Black Cat Bone won both the Forward and the T.S. Eliot Prizes for poetry.