<p>Edith Stokers father is building a wall in their backyard. A very, very high walla brick bulwark in his obsessive war against their hated neighbour Edward Black.</p> <p>It is 1969, and far away, preparations are being made for man to walk upon the moon. Meanwhile, in the Stokers shabby home in the East Midlands, Edith remains a virtual prisoner, with occasional visits from her grotesque and demanding Aunt Vivian serving as the only break in the routine.</p><p>But when shy, sheltered Edith begins to quietly cultivate a garden in the shadow of her fathers wall, she sets in motion events that might gain her independence... and bring her face to face with the mysterious Edward Black.</p><p>Rosie Chards followup to her award-winning debut <i>Seal Intestine Raincoat</i> unfolds like a grown-up take on <i>The Secret Garden</i>, an engrossing, often mordantly funny portrait of a young woman who miraculously finds her own pathway to freedom within the most stifling of environs.</p>