[3] Later, after earning a first-class degree in biochemistry from Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, she became a solicitor and, after five years, a partner at a City of London law firm.

[2] In 2000, Michelle Paver published her debut adult historical novel, Without Charity (a sweeping tale of betrayal, forbidden love, and family secrets, spanning modern-day London, Edwardian England, and the Boer War),[4] followed by A Place in the Hills (a tale of passion, mystery, and lost treasure, as Antonia's search for the truth behind a Roman poet's riddle intertwines with a love that defies time and tragedy in the hills of Provence), the following year.

[5] Other standalone works include the ghost novel, Dark Matter (2010), a chilling tale of isolation and terror set in the Arctic, which was nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel;[6] Thin Air (2016), a tale of mountaineering and supernatural terror in the Himalayas;[7] and Wakenhyrst (2019), a gothic thriller about a young girl uncovering dark secrets in the Fens.

[9] Paver's Daughters of Eden trilogy, was published from 2002 to 2005, consisting of The Shadow Catcher (a tale of betrayal and redemption, as Madeleine journeys from Victorian Scotland to a decaying Jamaican plantation to confront her family's dark legacy),[10] Fever Hill (set in Jamaica in 1903, the story follows Sophie Monroe as she uncovers family secrets and confronts prejudice to save the plantation she loves),[11] and The Serpent's Tooth (set against the backdrop of World War I, the story follows Belle as she battles secrets, tragedy, and war to find love, friendship, and redemption).

The main story arc revolves around Torak and his quest to defeat the Soul Eaters, a group of evil clan mages who seek out to destroy all life in the forest in which they live.