Leah is extremely withdrawn and spends much of her time in the bath, drinking salted water. This time, though Leah returned months later than originally scheduled after the expedition has gone catastrophically wrong and it becomes quickly apparent that the Leah who returned, isn't the same person who left. Miri is used to her wife Leah, a marine researcher, going on deep sea missions as part of her job. 'Part bruisingly tender love story, part nerve-clanging submarine thriller. Living in the same space but suddenly separate, Miri comes to realize that the life that they had might be gone.

Memories of what they had before – the jokes they shared, the films they watched, all the small things that made Leah hers – only remind Miri of what she stands to lose. To have the woman she loves back should mean a return to normal life, but Miri can feel Leah slipping from her grasp. Whatever happened in that vessel, whatever it was they were supposed to be studying before they were stranded on the ocean floor, Leah has carried part of it with her, onto dry land and into their home. It soon becomes clear, though, that Leah may have come back wrong. Miri thinks she has got her wife back, when Leah finally returns after a deep sea mission that ended in catastrophe. It’s a story of falling in love, loss, grief, and what life there is in the deep, deep sea.

Our Wives Under The Sea is the debut novel from the critically acclaimed author of S alt Slow. Named as a book to look out for by Guardian, i-D, Autostraddle, Bustle, Good Housekeeping, Stylist and DAZED.

Julia armfield books