Synopsis

The story is set in the UK and Italy.
In the UK five friends are coming to the end of their schooldays. They are now in the waiting period between finishing their final exams and receiving the results that will affect the next stage of their lives. They are in a band which plays at the school prom. A wealthy entrepreneur hears them and to their astonishment and delight invites them to play at a celebrity wedding to be held at his villa in the Tuscan hills.. Their travel and other expenses will be paid and they’ll live in luxury accommodation. Too good to be true? There’s only one way they can find out, and despite some misgivings they accept.
They leave for Italy and arrive in Florence, where a car meets them and takes them to the villa. The house is remote, set deep in the country, and their driver has left before they realise that the place is empty and they are on their own. Not only that, but there is no cellphone signal and they can’t log in to the wifi. However, there’s a note from their host to say that he will join them in a couple of days and they are to make themselves at home. With no transport and no means of communicating with the outside world they have no choice. The note also warns them to stay close to the villa and avoid the forest that surrounds it.
The villa is lavishly provisioned and they start to settle in. However, they have not been there long before a series of strange and disturbing events begins. Are they dreams, or are they real? It’s hard to decide. Their situation strains their relationships and builds to a climax when they are forced to reassess themselves and seriously consider what is important to them.
In the final chapters we learn the truth behind these events, and the reason for them.