Chloe Yates is running from her marriage, herself and, most of all, from the worm of despair that's devouring her piece by piece.

But who is the worm and how did it come to exist?

To find the answer Chloe faces a cursed holiday cottage, takes a trip on a Viking longship, argues with her own inner voice and witnesses a battle between supernatural beings.

But are the answers enough?

Louise Birkett wanted to be an author from the age of 11 so she trained as a journalist to learn to write. She later moved into internal communications and has won numerous awards for her writing and editing. She lives in Leicestershire, England, near the heart of the National Forest. And because creativity comes in more than one guise, she also designs cross stitch patterns.