A new novel from the star of English teen prose. When a person dies, his soul seeks a new refuge. Some people are the perfect vessel for dead shadows. Twelve-year-old Makepeace was always haunted by shadows. They appeared to her in nightmares, touched her skin with their icy fingers, whispered barely audible words. One day, Makepeace let a shadow inside her... The shadow of a wild, ferocious and indomitable animal took over her mind and body. The shadow has become a curse and the only protection of a lonely girl in the Grievehaze estate - a world of wealth, cruelty and dark secrets. While the land of the estate is torn apart by the struggle for power, and the country by the struggle for the crown, the soul of Makepeace struggles with the beast. But sometimes life in the power of people is worse than death in the power of shadows...