On a cold London afternoon Stella encounters a man she has not seen for many years, whose face she instantly recognises - or thinks she does. At exactly the same moment, in Hong Kong, Jake is realising that the crowd around him, celebrating Chinese New Year, is about to turn dangerous.

They know nothing of each other's existence, but both flee their lives: Jake in search of a place so remote it doesn't appear on any map, and Stella for a destination in Scotland, the significance of which only her sister, Nina, will understand. Gripping, insightful and deft, The Distance Between Us is a haunting story of the way families shape our lives.