'A profound and moving book' Woman's Weekly

In the end they drew lots to decide who would choose first: A wishbone; A tanner; A reel of pink cotton . . .

France, 1918. In the final weeks of the First World War, a disparate group of British soldiers shelters in an abandoned farmhouse. To while away the time, they place bets using the few precious objects they still possess. But as the soldiers become restless awaiting their orders, tensions rise. Then a terrible act is committed that will bind the soldiers together forever . . . A century later, an old man dies alone in his Edinburgh nursing home. No known relatives, and no will to enact. Just a pawn ticket found amongst his belongings, and fifty thousand pounds sewn into the lining of his burial suit.

Heir Hunter Solomon Farthing, tipped off on this unexplained fortune, sets out to find the dead man's closest living relative for a cut of the cash. But as he trawls through the deceased's family tree, Solomon keeps finding connections to a group of soldiers and a secret they thought would never come to light . . .

'Skilful juggling of the twin timelines in this engaging mystery reveals a darkness at its core' Sunday Times

'The characterization is great and the atmosphere powerful. The bored and fractious platoon is wonderfully evoked' Daily Mail

Mary Paulson-Ellis lives in Edinburgh. She has an MLitt in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow and was awarded the inaugural Curtis Brown Prize for Fiction in 2009 and the Maverick Award from the Tom McGrath Trust in 2011. Her critically acclaimed debut, The Other Mrs Walker, reached number three in The Times paperback fiction chart. The Inheritance of Solomon Farthing is her second novel.