After hearing strange scratches in the attic, Alison discovers a dinner service covered in an intriguing floral owl pattern. A series of events are set in motion that will change her life forever.

Alison, her step-brother Roger, and Welsh boy Gwyn are forced into a cyclical replay of the tragic Welsh legend of Blodeuwedd, in which a woman is turned into an owl as a punishment for betraying her husband. The Owl Service is a fabulous book of mystery and suspense, but also a contemporary musing on love, class structure, and power.