After Catherines husband dies in World War I, she obeys his last wish and converts their British estate to an army hospital for wounded soldiers. Soon the grounds are filled with disfigured men, and Catherines unease is heightened by suspicions that her husband is actually one of the maimed men, his face changed beyond recognition. This taut and eerie novel climaxes in a bold attempt by a surgeon and an artist to create a new face for him.