How do you fight for someone you love if they don't exist?

Scientist Beth Darlow is at the peak of her career when she discovers a way for human consciousness to travel through time - to any point in the traveller's lifetime - and relive moments of their life. An epic breakthrough to be sure, but it's not perfect: the traveller has no way to alter, or control, the outcome; they can only observe. After Beth's husband, Colson, the co-creator of the machine, dies in a tragic car accident, Beth is left to raise Isabella--their only daughter--and continue the work they started. Mired in grief, Beth decides to travel back in time to find Colson and prove the value of the machine.

But with each trip she takes, her own timeline begins to warp. Beth continues the experiments at a rapid pace, pushing herself to the limit. But after one fateful experiment, Beth returns to find her reality altered to a horrifying extent. Isabella has ceased to exist. Beth must do whatever it takes, pushing the limits of science and the hidden rules of the universe itself, to change her reality once more, and bring Isabella back before she is lost to her forever.

A sci-fi thriller that packs an emotional punch from Bram Stoker award nominated Philip Fracassi, perfect for fans of The Space Between Worlds and Severance.

Praise for Philip Fracassi's Boys in the Valley:

'Fracassi makes terror read so damn beautifully' Victor LaValle, author of The Changeling

'An unrelenting and highly entertaining' Thomas Olde Heuvelt, author of Hex

'A smart and deftly-written tale' Nick Cutter, author of The Troop

'As poignant as it is chilling, with a fast-paced, unflinching ending' Alma Katsu, author of The Hunger

'The most unsettling novel I have read all year' Ronald Malfi, author of Black Mouth

'Harrowing and claustrophobic' Christopher Golden, author of Road of Bones

'Fracassi. . . builds his horrific tales slowly and carefully...he's especially skilful at creating, and sustaining, suspense' The New York Times

'Gut-wrenching, heart breaking, and terrifying' Andy Davidson, author of The Boatman's Daughter

'Fracassi's storytelling is. . . horror with a big, broken heart' Esquire

The Third Rule of Time Travel - pocket, Engelska, 2025