About

“It hurts telling all these lies. It really hurts. It’s like a dead weight on my stomach. It’s like grief. You can’t forget it.”

1960, suburban London. A harsh winter grips the country and a Cold War threatens the uneasy stability of post-war Europe. The Jackson family are best friends with their Canadian neighbours, the Krogers; studious Peter and ebullient Helen, confidante to Barbara and surrogate aunt to teenage Julie. But the Jackson’s world is turned upside down by the entry into their home of the mysterious Mr Stewart. Secrecy and surveillance will leave the family asking who and what they can trust, even within their own family. The Krogers are not who they seem, and the truth will tear down accepted certainties and rip apart relationships.

This true story makes us ask - what happens when our world view is tested, when we are forced to question the forces we are told will protect us, and trust in authority is fatally undermined? And how do we reconcile love for friends and family in the face of dishonesty and treachery? This gripping thriller weaves a tense web of suspicion, secrecy and betrayal, where nothing and no one, is quite what it seems.