Olivia Giorgiadis has left her English roots far behind. She lives on a tiny Greek island, where she is married to a local man, mother to their small children. Year on year, island life has followed an unchanging rhythm, the summer visitors giving way to the thyme-scented peace of autumn.
Until now. An earthquake ravages the coast, its force devastating the island. In its aftermath comes a stranger: an Englishwoman, Kitty, destitute but for the clothes she wears.
Olivia offers refuge in her home, the potter's house, and friendship. But as Kitty melts into the family and the village community, so Olivia begins to sense the danger from her visitor with no past . . .