Hunger and Thirst

In 1987, sixteen-year-old Ursula is navigating the world alone after a turbulent childhood in the care system. Her job at a provincial art school introduces her to the residents of The Underwood, a shadowy house operating as a squat. There, she becomes mesmerized by Sue, a charismatic but manipulative peer who offers the belonging Ursula craves. This intense bond culminates in a malicious dare, leading Ursula to commit an act she will carry with her for the rest of her life.

More than three decades later, Ursula has carved out a solitary existence in London as a successful sculptor, working entirely under a false name. Her carefully maintained privacy is threatened when a true-crime documentarian begins investigating an unsolved disappearance linked to The Underwood. As the inquiry tightens around her, Ursula faces the terrifying prospect of her true identity and her teenage transgressions being exposed to the public.

Claire Fuller constructs a deeply unsettling psychological thriller that transitions seamlessly between the two timelines. Blending literary fiction with gothic suspense, the narrative examines the fierce dynamics of adolescent relationships and the extreme lengths a vulnerable person will go to secure a place in the world, ultimately questioning where true monstrosity resides.