'Holds the reader in suspense until the very last page' - L'Express 'A magnificent allegory for the ways in which the modern world wears us down... A unique voice' - Le Figaro 'A hymn to space and calm' - Liberation 'Proof of Serge Joncour's immense talent and understanding of human subtleties' - Marie Claire WINNER OF THE PRIX LANDERNEAU DES LECTEURS 2018 It was as though some frenzied ritual were taking place up there in the woods, a savage brawl that seemed to be making its way towards them... Seeking to escape the stresses of modern life, Franck and Lise, a Parisian couple who have made their living in the film industry, decide to rent out a cottage in the calm, quiet hills of the French Lot. But nothing is quite what it seems. In this remote corner of the world, there is no phone signal. A wild dog emerges, looking for a new master. Ghosts of a dark, savage past run wild in these hills, where a mysterious German lion tamer took refuge in the First World War... Franck and Lise are confronted with nature at its most brutal. And they are about to discover that man and beast have more in common than they think.
