Summary

We enter the novel with the image of three suns in the sky, indicative of the arrival of the most extreme winter in 200 years. There is a subtle feeling of panic in the air as people stock up on supplies, believing it to be the end of times. As the North Atlantic Drift slows and water salinity plummets, scientists make predictions for record-low temperatures and severe casualties. We are then introduced to Dylan MacRae, who has just arrived in Clachan Fells caravan park to see Constance Fairbairn and her daughter, Stella looking up at the suns. They watch the suns climb and reflect the state of their own lives: Stella ponders the loss of clarity, Constance sees the loss of her lovers and Dylan is intrigued by the mother and child in front of him. Stella tries to absorb the sun’s...