The intention was, of course, to bring her out to Winterwood -to that magical place that only me and her knew - but I wouldn't tell her that until much later on, for I wanted it to be as much of a surprise as possible. 'Kimono!' I remember laughing 'Kimono and Pinkie Pie! The Magic Castle, here we come!'

Winterwood, a place of dreams and mystery. Once, near Dublin, Redmond was in heaven, married to the sugar-lipped Catherine, and father to lovely daughter Immy. But later, much later, Red did something. And it could all never be like that again.

Winterwood, a place of escape and sanctuary. Red meets Auld Pappie Ned, a fiddler and teller of tales with honeyed words who seems the authentic spirit of 'the old valley', indeed a fiddler by nature and a man so mesmerising that Red sees himself anew, so new in fact that only a fresh name will now do as he leaves (he hopes) the demons of his past behind, the apparitions. And then one day Red spies Catherine again. And still even this is not quite enough to save his new love Casey from the man who's called Dominic Tiernan. Winterwood, a place of chill and threat. Of danger, and worse.