Is Matt Black sick or is he really able to have telepathic conversations with a prowling beast in Inglefield Wood? Half the time Matt is not sure about this himself. The farmers want to shoot the beast. Matt is determined to stop them. Then the beast is wounded and becomes...well...really dangerous. But where is it hiding? Why can't all the farmers and armed police track it down? What role do Allegra, Matt's ex-girlfriend, and her desperately ill baby brother Jo-jo have in this story? How far can bereavement push a young person into a world of fantasy? Can grown-ups ever be forgiven for letting you down? Can we blame an animal for doing whatever it takes to survive? Are human beings any different? Must we always do what is right? Is it right to medicate someone who is no threat to anyone? In his winding journey through these questions Matt seeks some resolution to the turmoil in his life. And he finds it, but at great personal cost; Matt comes to realise that however painful it is to lose someone, we have to move on. So powerfully is this truth brought home to him that at the end of his journey his fervent wish becomes, May Never The Dead Return.