An exquisite novel that blends and intertwines time periods, the summer spent by the wealthy Ramsay family on the Isle of Skye becomes a unique British 'chronicle of lost time'—a fragile, almost idyllic time doomed to swift destruction by the First World War. The children will grow up—some will survive and mature, others will lose their lives on the battlefield. Minor setbacks and grievances will be forgotten. The old house will be abandoned, the garden will become overgrown. But will the dream of a trip to a distant lighthouse ever come true for any of the Ramsay children?