Set in the 200-year-old Highgate Cemetery in London, Life in a Place of Death explores the concept of humanity’s perception of its control over nature.

Visitors flock from around the world to pay their respects to lost loved ones and iconic figures like Karl Marx and Christina Rossetti, seeking solace among the winding paths and elegant headstones. Yet amidst the melancholic beauty of this solemn place, life thrives: tawny owls hunt mice among the gravestones, rare orb-weaving spiders birth their young in the damp, dark corners of the mausoleum and playful fox cubs emerge from underground dens each spring.

At the heart of this story lies the theme of coexistence between humans and non-human animals. Each character and species are given equal weight, from the gravedigger who relies on mycelium to bind the soil, to the animal rescuer who treats foxes for mange, to the gardener who carefully removes empty plastic water bottles from the compost heap. The majestic oak tree feeds from recycled organic matter in the soil, while the canopy is cared for by a surgeon who rids it of blight. Together, these intertwined stories paint a vivid picture of the delicate balance between humans and the natural world.