The Warm Hands of Ghosts

The Warm Hands of Ghosts, by bestselling American author Katherine Arden, is a historical fiction novel with elements of fantasy set during the final years of World War I. In 1918, Canadian nurse Laura Iven receives word that her brother, Freddie, is missing and presumed dead on the battlefields in Belgium, and she returns to the front lines to search for him. Meanwhile, in 1917, Freddie befriends an injured German soldier and promises to see him safely across enemy lines. However, in the process, they meet a strange fiddler who claims to relieve suffering soldiers of their most painful memories. Before he understands what is happening, Freddie finds himself lost in the fiddler’s magical domain. Through these intersecting narratives, the novel examines themes including The Impact of Grief and Trauma, War and the End of the World, and The Resilience of the Human Spirit.

This guide uses the 2024 hardcover edition published by Del Rey.

Content Warning: The guide and source material depict graphic physical injuries sustained in war, intense experiences of post-traumatic stress disorder, and discussions of suicide. In addition, the novel features period-typical attitudes toward and language about mental illness, which this guide replicates only in direct quotations.

Plot Summary

Laura Iven, a Canadian nurse, has returned home to Halifax after being injured while working at an aid station in Belgium. She has just lost both parents during a ship explosion in Halifax Harbor in December 1917. In January 1918, she learns that her brother, Freddie, is missing and presumed dead in Flanders. To find out what happened to him, Laura joins two other women, Mary Borden and Penelope “Pim” Shaw, when they leave to work in Mary’s field hospital.

Meanwhile, in November 1917, Freddie Iven wakes up trapped in a concrete pillbox (a kind of bunker) with a wounded German soldier, Hans Winter. Supporting each other physically and emotionally, they escape the pillbox and cross the dangerous terrain of “No Man’s Land” (the heavily shelled region between the two trench lines). They stumble upon a Canadian soldier, whom Freddie kills in a panic. Freddie, haunted by his act of murder, focuses on keeping Winter alive and taking him safely to his sister, Laura, at an aid station near Ypres.

In spring 1918, Laura, Mary, and Pim arrive in London, where they meet General Gage, who knew Pim’s son, Jimmy, before his death. The women then travel to Belgium. On the way, they take shelter in a strange hotel run by a man named Faland who plays violin for soldiers in the hotel bar. Laura sees Freddie in the crowd but assumes she is hallucinating. Meanwhile, Pim stares into a mirror in the bar that reveals one’s heart’s desire. The following day, they reach Mary’s field hospital, Couthove.

In November 1917, Freddie and Winter reach Ypres, where they meet Faland. Then they travel to Laura’s aid station only to find it has been bombed and Laura is gone. Assuming Laura is dead, Freddie leaves Winter in the care of Laura’s supervisor, Kate, and disappears with Faland, who promises to help him forget his trauma in exchange for one true story per night.

In March 1918, Laura and Pim work at Couthove with surgeon Dr. Jones. Pim obsesses over rumors that Faland is a magical fiddler who buys mens’ souls. Laura visits Kate, who explains that last November she treated a German prisoner who claimed to know Freddie. This prisoner, Winter, has since escaped. Laura then visits Poperinghe, the town where General Gage is headquartered. There, strange violin music plays, and a riot breaks out in the streets. In the crowd, Laura sees her mother’s ghost pointing to Winter, but before she can speak with him, guards chase him away.

Through winter 1917 and spring 1918, Freddie stays in Faland’s hotel, telling him stories that erase the corresponding memory from his mind. One night, Freddie sees Laura in Faland’s hotel but is too ashamed to approach her. Later, Faland takes Freddie to Poperinghe, where he plays his violin, inciting a riot. In the crowd, Freddie sees Winter shot by guards and begs Faland to save him. Faland takes Winter to Couthove in exchange for Freddie’s final story: how he met and fell in love with Winter.

At Couthove, Laura finds Winter and convinces Jones to treat him in secret. Winter tells Laura that she must save Freddie from Faland. When Gage visits the hospital, Winter and Pim grapple for a pistol that goes off, nearly hitting Gage. Meanwhile, Laura sees Faland through a window and runs after him, demanding to be taken to Freddie. At the hotel, Laura finds Freddie nearly lost but helps him recover some of his memories. Laura then threatens to smash Faland’s violin if he does not release her and Freddie, and Faland relents. Lost in the countryside, Laura calls out to her mother’s ghost, who leads them to Couthove.

In Couthove, Pim plans to smooth things over with Gage following Winter’s arrest. Laura joins her. In Poperinghe, however, Pim shoots and kills Gage, admitting that she tried before but Winter stopped her. She has hated Gage from their first meeting, when he told her Jimmy was executed for desertion. Faland arrives to take Pim away, offering her oblivion while Laura and Winter escape. Then Jones helps Laura, Winter, and Freddie return to Canada. As they prepare to leave, Winter and Freddie admit their love for each other. Laura asks Jones to come find her when the war is over.

Finally safe in Canada, Laura, Freddie, and Winter attempt to rebuild their lives. However, Freddie and Winter decide they cannot stay in Halifax. They plan to settle in an isolated town in the wilderness, away from crowds and noise. Weeks after the war ends, Jones arrives at Laura’s door.