The Book of Guilt

In the alternative reality of Katherine Chidgey's new novel, post-war Europe has achieved unprecedented success in medicine and biology – all because World War II ended in 1943, after Hitler's assassination, and as part of the peace treaty, the Allies gained access to the results of experiments conducted by Nazi scientists.

Now, in England at the end of the 1970s, triplets Vincent, William, and Lawrence are the last residents of the "Captain Scott" shelter, established as part of the "Project Sycamore." From childhood, the boys have been suffering from an unknown but dangerous plague, forcing them to live in isolation and regularly take medication.

Their days are strictly regulated: exercise, lessons, games, walks under the supervision of three caregivers, or "mothers." The brothers' misdemeanors are recorded in the "Book of Guilt," dreams in the "Book of Dreams," and all the information about the world is derived from the "Book of Knowledge." Above all, they dream of getting well and going to Margate, where fun, swimming in the sea, and meeting other children await them. However, as the government begins to wind down the "Project Sycamore," the idyllic facade crumbles.