This is the story of loss - and what happens afterwards...

When Emma gets home after work one evening, she calls hello to her husband Jay, as she always does. Stepping into the kitchen, she sees he has done the shopping, as she had reminded him to; remembered to buy peppercorns; has bought her flowers. Everything is neatly put away.

But Jay is not there. He is upstairs. And he has ended his own life, seemingly out of nowhere and leaving no note to explain.

A photographer, all Jay has left behind is his camera containing five photographs, which are unlike his other work. Desperately trying to comprehend the incomprehensible and struggling to cope in a house that no longer feels like home, Emma follows the images to Cornwall, beginning a journey in which old relationships are re-written and new ones are formed. As the visual mystery of each photograph unfolds, Emma finds herself unravelling and perilously close to breaking point. But could her unlikely salvation lie in the sea, a small community of swimmers and the promise of something Emma thought she didn't want?

'Truly beautiful' Debbie Johnson

'A stunning story about love, longing and learning to live again after loss. Utterly immersive, and brimming with exquisite prose, AFTERWARDS is a thought-provoking and powerful debut with a message of hope at its heart. Emma's journey is guaranteed to stay with you long after you turn the final page' Holly Miller