Based on the lives of real people in Somerset on the borders of Exmoor, Miller tells his own story of a young labourer swept up in the adventure of riding second horse in a west country stag hunt. Finding himself in a closed social system in which he has neither status nor power, the young man identifies with the aberrant Tivington nott stag, which, despite its lack of antlers, has become a legend in the district for its ability to elude the hunt and to compete successfully with the antlered stags.

'This meditation on the condition of wildness, on being an outsider, is one of the most original pieces of writing of the year.' - Melbourne Herald

'An extraordinarily gripping novel.' - Melbourne Times

'Altogether brilliant. This man knows his hunting country.' - Somerset County Gazette