About the Book
A story, covering a span of 150 years, conveyed in dreams inspired from within an enchanted compass case.
2020 - In Emsworth, Bob and his wife, Joanne acquire a compass, bearing a dedication, and they experience strange dreams. In June, a wind suddenly blows, and both their ring fingers start to seep blood. When Bob opens the case the compass points south-southwest, directly towards Haslar Hospital.
1910 - Onboard HMS Eastney, Richard Stone retires and receives a compass as a gift. He recounts his first adventure, in 1875, on an Arctic expedition, and he conveys to his friend, Mark his worries that his girlfriend, Rose, would find him inadequate as a lover.
1875 - In Portsmouth, Rose tells how her neighbour, Pru, encourages her to write a diary. She probes her memories and challenges her mother to tell her about her father, Pete. He is now in a ward at Haslar, with syphilis. In her shame, her mother takes an overdose, as Rose discovers, next day.
1875 - At Newfoundland, Roy tells Richard that he used to know a Rose. He introduces Richard to the prostitute, Sushep. Richard telegraphs Rose, expressing his love. Her message tells him of her mother's death, and to hurry home.
1875 - At Haslar, Rose is permitted to visit Pete, challenging the nurses about his sedation. Next day, she tells Pru she is pregnant. Pru tells her if she dies in pregnancy, Richard will never know of her love, and to start a diary. Shortly after, two nurses call on her, telling how Rose has had her visiting rights toHaslar, rescinded and how, distraught, she runs into the path of a horse and cart.
1875 - 1876 - Near Greenland, on a shore expedition, Richard's fingertip becomes frostbitten, and scurvy afflicts the crew. Returning to Newfoundland, Richard hearsfrom Pru, telling him of Rose's death and of their unborn child. Devastated, he tries to visit Sushep, but he is denied access to her. Richard thinks Roy takes a cut from the brothel, and finding another guilty secret, he confronts Roy with the dreadful truth.
1975 - At Southsea, Gabbi, a nurse from Haslar, is swimming when a strong wind and current force her towards Gosport. A whirlwind devastates part of Haslar hospital, and its burial ground. An old envelope is found in a desk, and it looks to be marked with a faded message. An academic, Chloe, reconstructs a poem held within it, telling of the writer's fear that his soul will never rest until his body is buried intact.
1915 - In Antarctica, Richard meets Shackleton. They try to rescue his men, on Elephant Island, but they turn back. In Buenos Aires, a witch-healer amputates his finger and preserves it, with his memories, in the compass case. She enchants the compass so that it will point towards Richard's body if it is not buried with him.
2020 - Bob and Joanne hurry to Haslar to reunite the finger with Richard's body. They meet Chloe, and she completes Richard's poem. The ebony box begins to weep with blood, as Bob opens it, revealing the bloody severed finger. "Requiem Aeternam. Let a troubled soul rest in peace."
