'PHENOMENALLY IMMERSIVE' CLAIRE LOMBARDO'MESMERIC, ORIGINAL AND STUNNING' CHRIS WHITAKER'GLORIOUSLY EXTRAVAGENT AND PERFECTLY POISED' ROBERT MACFARLANEHigh in the Appalachian Mountains is a place quite unlike any other. The Avallon Hotel, skilfully run by June 'Hoss' Hudson, is famed for offering unrivalled luxury to wealthy guests who come to indulge in its beautiful hot springs and the wild curative sweetwater. June has known its power since the day she stepped through the century-old doors - and into the fold of the Gilfoyle family, the hotel's owners.But in 1942, the real world intrudes. When the eldest Gilfoyle son strikes a deal with the State Department to host three hundred enemy diplomats and sympathisers, war comes to the Avallon.June's priority is business as usual. But not every new guest is who they seem - not least the government man with the coal tattoo who listens for secrets through the hotel walls and watches June with soft, dark eyes. As dangerous alliances and unexpected desires crack the polished veneer of the Avallon, the life June has fought for rests on a knife-edge.After all, only she knows the sacrifice required to keep the peace in this place. And keep the mountain sweetwater at bay.The extraordinary, genre-defying debut adult novel by the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author.***READER REVIEWS***'I have not stopped thinking about it''It feels like the kind of story that becomes a classic''A hauntingly beautiful read''I wonder if Maggie Stiefvater would have ever suspected how well timed this book release would be. History tends to rhyme, after all''A beautiful story about the human condition'