作者為曼布克獎入圍者，新作靈感源於法國一九五一年蓬聖埃斯普里大規模中毒事件。小說借鏡實事，但揉合豐富想像，是充滿黑暗、死亡、情欲的異色創作：卅代鎮民愛洛蒂與麵包師丈夫沒有性生活，她聽見新來的美國大使對少妻說「妳吃麵包就會死」的低語，對這對夫妻產生了性渴望，鎮民在謠言中一一中毒身亡之際，她與兩人的緊張關係也衝向最高點⋯ From the Booker Prize-nominated author of The Water Cure comes a chilling new feminist fable based on the true story of an unsolved mystery.. If you eat the bread, you'll die, he said. The statement made no sense, but it filled me with an electric dread. Elodie is the baker's wife. A plain, unremarkable woman, ignored by her husband and underestimated by her neighbours, she burns with the secret desire to be extraordinary. One day a charismatic new couple appear in town - the ambassador and his sharp-toothed wife, Violet - and Elodie quickly falls under their spell. All summer long she stalks them through the shining streets: inviting herself into their home, eavesdropping on their coded conversations, longing to be part of their world.