Crescombe, North Devon 1840
As darkness creeps over the coast, a vast ship loses its way in the mist and is dashed against the cliffs of Crescombe.
In the town, Lord Delmore - a daring young artist on the cusp of greatness - dives into the murky water to search for survivors, desperate to save one in particular...
Only his legacy will last the night. NowToday, tourists are drawn to Crescombe by the story of Delmore's untimely demise, and the mystery surrounding his final, brilliant painting, Hero's Bay.
Most are unaware of the town's other tales: of ghosts and curses; of a ruthless old smuggling family; and especially of the young women whose bodies have washed up along its rocky shoreline, decades apart but always in the same place. When bookish Finley arrives in Crescombe for the summer, he tries to convince himself he's only imagining the feeling he isn't alone in his attic room; that there must be some other explanation for the heavy window blowing open, or the scratching noises coming from behind the walls, as though something - or someone - is trying to break free. Soon, though, Finley is uncovering secrets Crescombe has kept for almost two centuries.
Yet the more he learns about the remote seaside town, the further he's bonded to those who have gone before him - and the closer he comes to meeting the same watery end...
