Billy Dean is a secret child, growing up in the dark heart of Blinkbonny. He has a beautiful young mother and a father who arrives at night carrying the smell of incense and cigarettes. His world is just a bed, some pictures of the holy island and a single locked door, but his father fills his dreams with mysterious tales and dreadful warnings. When his father disappears, Billy's mum brings him out into the world, and he learns the dreadful truth of what happened in Blinkbonny on the day he was born. Gradually he finds he has the gift of helping to rebuild what has been broken. But there is one figure who is beyond healing, who comes looking for Billy himself and is determined on a kind of reckoning.
Fourteen-year-old Davie and his best friend, Geordie, are altar boys at their local Catholic Church. They're full of mischief, but that all changes when Stephen Rose comes to town. Father O'Mahoney thinks it would be a good idea for Davie and Geordie to befriend him--maybe some of their good nature will rub off on this unhappy soul. But it's Stephen who sees something special in Davie.Stephen's a gifted sculptor. One day as Davie looks on, Stephen brings a tiny figure to life. It's a talent he has, the gift of creation--and he knows that Davie has this talent, too. Davie allows Stephen to convince him to help bring a life-size figure to life--and Clay is born. Clay is innocent, but Stephen has special plans for him.What has Davie helped to unleash on the world?From the Hardcover edition.
