Riveting. A beautifully written meditation on the delicate balance of intimacy and isolation within a long marriage' Alice SeboldAugusta Edelman, Gus to her friends, is an artist and a wife: fierce, passionate, honest and not always the best judge of her own choices. One of these has led to a new start with her husband, Owen, in a house of ramshackle beauty, miles from the city and from their troubles. There, Gus and Owen set about restoring their home and their love - until the arrival of a stranger at the empty property next door threatens the fragile peace in ways Gus could never have imagined . . . 'The page-turning suspense of Robin Black's novel comes from her beautiful, honest portrait of a marriage, of a life. Stunning' San Francisco Chronicle'Every intimate contour of the couple's relationship is mapped by Black with devastating accuracy. Full of insight' Sunday Times'Life Drawing might be the nearest thing to a perfect novel that I have ever read' Cathy Rentzenbrink