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Set against the cold, deserted landscape of Belport Island, the novel alternates between Kate, whose husband fails to return from a supposed medical conference, and Abby, whose ordinarily dependable husband has begun behaving suspiciously. White creates tension through accumulating inconsistencies rather than constant action: unexplained absences, discarded clothing, carefully maintained lies and the unnerving possibility that neither woman truly knows the man she married.

Each tag insists that he existed in a world determined not to notice boys like him. The city can paint over the letters, but for a brief moment he's left something behind. He's occupied space, and he's made himself visible.

Rather than remaining confined to a single storyline, Vince finds himself exploring a range of communities and motivations. The inclusion of the Amish community, the political campaign, and the strange run of gambling success all seem disconnected at first, but Pomare clearly has a knack for bringing disparate elements together in very clever ways.

Private investigator Reid reluctantly returns to the town he once vowed never to see again after being hired to investigate a fatal car accident. What begins as a routine insurance enquiry quickly expands into something far more complicated, with missing teenagers, old scandals and long-held resentments intertwining until it becomes impossible to separate coincidence from conspiracy.

Although the mystery is compelling, this is really a novel about grief. Not simply the grief of losing a child, but the grief of losing certainty.