The destinies of three mysterious lost children entwine in this James Tait Black Memorial Prize-winning fable by the radical Nobel Laureate and author of Lord of the Flies, introduced by Nicola Barker. A figure had condensed out of the shuddering backdrop of the glare. He is born in fire: a naked child in the blood-red flames of London's Blitz. Miraculously saved but grotesquely burned, this mysterious orphan is named Matty. Doomed to a life of torment, he becomes a wanderer, a spiritual seeker after unknown redemption. They are also lost children: neglected twins, as exquisitely beautiful as they are loveless and sinful. Toni explores political terrorism; Sophy, sexual dominance and violent criminality. But their destinies will soon collide in an apocalyptic climax - one that illuminates the inner and outer darkness of modern humanity. 'Exceptional ... Irresistibly transcendent ... Golding seduces us, transfixes, bewitches and confounds us. ' Nicola Barker'The most powerful, and strangest, of all Golding's novels, and one of the great masterpieces of the twentieth-century. ' Philip Hensher'A master craftsman in [his] magic ... Golding's best book ... Wonderfully creepy. ' London Review of Books'A vision of elemental reality so vivid we seem to hallucinate the scenes ... Magic. ' NYTBR'One of the most moving books I've ever read. ' The Times