Waiting for the flood

12 years ago, I came to Oxford and fell in love with a man named Marius. He was brilliant. An artist. It was going to be forever. But then, like all beautiful things, it ended. And now, there is only silence. Quietly heartbroken, Edwin Tully lives alone in the house he used to share with the man he once loved. He tends to damaged books and faded memories, trying to build a future from the fragments of the past. Then the weather turns, and the river spills into Edwin's quiet world, bringing with it Adam Dacre from the Environment Agency. An unlikely knight, this stranger with roughened hands and worn wellingtons offers Edwin the hope of something he thought he would never have again. As the two men are drawn together in their struggle against the rising waters, Edwin slowly lets down his guard as he comes to accept he can't shield his heart from everything - and perhaps he doesn't even need to try.