A haunting novel in which the past reaches out to the present from the author of Ferney.

An archaeologist becomes drawn into the life of the Wessex village in which he is supervising a dig in an ancient burial chamber. Ironically, by becoming an academic who uncovers the past, Patrick is seeking to bury his own former life - he was an internationally famous rock musician. The haunting beauty of a local girl, the strangely ancient folk-songs of a young man in the pub... somehow the past seems to be reaching out to tell its story to the present, and Patrick's own previous life, of violence and rock 'n' roll selfishness that led to the death of his wife, cannot be suppressed forever. The result is explosive, thrilling, romantic, painful, funny, tragic, and redemptive.

James Long is developing a reputation as a brilliant storyteller with a fascination for the links between the time we call `history' and the time we call the present - showing us that the two are often closer than we think.

Silence and Shadows is his finest and most moving novel yet.