Fairytale and history, wilderness and civilisation collide in this brilliant and magical new novel from the author of Little Exiles.

In Belarus, a land of endless ancient forests, an orphaned boy must scatter his mother’s ashes. His mama has exacted a solemn promise: to stay beside and protect grandfather, whatever happens.

On their journey into the woodland, hunks of mama’s delicious gingerbread sustain the young boy as grandfather’s magical tales push the harsh world away.

But the driving snow masks a frozen history of long-buried secrets. And as man and child forage further, grandfather’s tales turn to terrible truths of times past.

Fairytale and history interweave in this magical, haunting tale of the lengths a boy must go to, in order to survive.