Stranded

Bruised from the breakdown of her marriage, Esther Lomax needs to get away and hopes Malaysia's unspoilt shores will provide the space and time alone she seeks.

But a day's boat trip takes a desperate turn when Esther, along with six other holiday-makers, is deposited on an uninhabited island, their guide promising to pick them up in an hour's time.

But he doesn't return...

Emily Barr is the well-loved and bestselling author of Backpack, the original backpacking novel, and many other highly acclaimed novels. A former journalist, she has travelled around the world and written columns and travel pieces for the Observer and the Guardian. After living in France, Emily and her husband, whom she met backpacking, have settled in Cornwall with their three children.