When Marnie receives a phone call that summons her to the side of a once-beloved friend, she is wrenched from her orderly London life and sent back into a past from which she has fled but never escaped. Ralph, Marnie and Oliver once knew each other well and are still inextricably bound by ties of love and betrayal. Now they meet again in Ralph's secluded cottage in the Scottish highlands to spend the precious days that Ralph has left with one another. it is nearly Christmas; outside it is icy and dark, and inside time is running out. As they talk and share memories, Marnie is taken back to the summer all those years ago when everything changed between them, and heartbreak and desire broke up their little group. Will Ralph have the chance to say what needs to be said before it's too late? Can they put to rest the devastating events of twenty years ago to rest and rekindle the intimacy they once shared? Heartbreaking and poignant, The Winter House is the compelling story of families and lives assembled from the broken remains of what has been lost. Praise for Nicci Gerrard: 'Beguiling, poignant, wonderful' Sunday Express ' Subtle, poignant and tremendously skilful' Observer.