A family hides in the forest, living apart from a dangerously changed society. When a Fabergé egg is discovered, the protagonist questions whether the encounter was real or imagined. This uncertainty is visualised through the egg's golden filigree, which appears to merge with the forest itself—simultaneously present and absent, woven into the tree branches or perhaps formed by them.
The ambiguous imagery captures the story's central theme of reality versus dream, where the ornate egg could be an actual discovery or a manifestation of the woods themselves.
Each chapter opens with an engraving of a different tree species, creating visual continuity between the cover and interior whilst emphasising the forest's significance throughout the narrative.
Arjan is brilliant! His product and designs are a class above. As a first-time writer I didn't know what to expect but got so much more than what I paid for.
— J.D. Matthews
