A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A rising storm on the horizon.

Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world’s largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers, but with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants. Until, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman mysteriously washes ashore.

Isolation has taken its toll on the Salts, but as they nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, it begins to feel like she might just be what they need. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting herself, starts imagining a future where she could belong to someone again.

But Rowan isn’t telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realizes Dominic is keeping his own secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, they all must decide if they can trust each other enough to protect the precious seeds in their care before it’s too late―and if they can finally put the tragedies of the past behind them to create something new, together.

This book contains mentions of suicide and sexual assault.

Charlotte McConaghy’s Wild Dark Shore was the perfect rainy-day read for me, holed up in my apartment on an inclement weekend. This atmospheric and eerie novel swept me away to the other side of the globe—a setting drenched in salt water and ravaged by untamed weather, but threatened most by dangers that are all too human.

Set on Shearwater, a remote island off the coast of Antarctica, Wild Dark Shore tells the story of the Salt family, who are caretakers of the island. Formerly a research station, due to rising sea levels Shearwater is now inhabited only by Dominic Salt and his three children. While inhospitable and challenging, the island is full of stark beauty and allows the family a deep connection with the natural world. As isolation begins to take its toll on the Salts’ dynamics, an unprecedented storm brings with it an unexpected visitor. Who is the mysterious woman who has washed ashore—and what will she discover about the Salt family and the past that has brought them to this remote corner of the world?

This sharp psychological drama explores the turmoil being wrought upon our natural world, and the turmoil that exists within complex family relationships. Wild Dark Shore challenges us to consider how we treat our loved ones and, ultimately, our planet.