Book excerpt: 'Absolutely magical... Always intriguing' Richard Adams author of Watership Down. Behind the realm of man lie the wild roads. Weaving through time and space, these hidden pathways carry the natural energies – the spirits, the dreams – of the world. No creature can slip into the shadows and travel the wild roads better than the cat. For millennia, cats have patrolled the tangled paths, maintaining balance and order, guarding against corruption and chaos. It is dangerous territory: for those who control the wild roads hold the key to the world. Amid the struggle between the purest good and the darkest evil, here are tales of duty and destiny, of courage and comradeship among the extraordinary creatures who brave the wild roads... The idyllic hamlet of ashmore lies at the intersection of several dream highways of the mythical wild roads. For Anna Prescott, retreating from a doomed love affair and a high-pressure career, it offers the perfect escape – pretty cottages, picturesque canal and intriguing inhabitants – Stella Herringe, enigmatic lady of the manor, feisty Alice at the Green Man, and handsome John Dawe. Anna finds herself adopting two tiny stray kittens, Vita and Orlando, after their mother dies, and Pond Cottage finally starts to feel like home, but her arrival has set in motion a nightmarish chain of events...