Kate has become a loner since the tragedy in the past that split her family. Her feelings about her little brother Peter, who died when he was hit by a car, are very fresh, and confused.s She feels she was responsible. When he was four and she was seven, they ran across a road. By the end of the story it is clear that the fault lay with their father who had left them on their own, and it is his guilt which has driven him to leave Kate and her mum. When the two of them move from London to a new life in Herefordshire, Kate finds a friend in Jimmy, a boy from a violent family, and together they try to save the ancient local wood from a property developer. There are sinister stories from the past, involving the daughter of the big house, who had been found drowned in the pool in the woods, and a group of gypsies who use the soon-to-be-developed land. Kate discovers truths about the past and herself which help her come to terms with Peter's death, and Jimmy becomes in reality a new brother - a foster brother. A gripping tale with a happy ending.