Catherine Cookson

Bridget Gether's parents were killed in the wartime blitz, so she had lived with the Overmeers at Balderstone, their sprawling property in the Northumbrian countryside, since she was a child. Unaware that she had been manipulated into agreeing to marry their son, Laurence, an encounter with Bruce Dickenson, the son of a neighbouring farmer, opened her eyes to the possibility that she might be making a serious mistake. Although Bridget told herself...

In 1851, Thomas Mallen found himself a ruined man, forced, amid scandal and disgrace, to sell High Banks Hall, and adjust to a new way of living. With him went his two young wards, Barbara and Constance Farington.

Set at the turn of the century, this is one of Catherine Cookson's most unusual novels. It portrays a woman so desperate to protect her inheritance that she will sacrifice almost anything or anyone to get what she wants.

Years ago Bill Bailey had met and married Fiona, a young widow with her own family. When one of Fiona's children, Willie, acquired a new friend, the wayward Sammy Love, Sammy and his father Davey were, in various ways, able to enhance the lives and fortunes of the Baileys. Now with Davey dead there were new challenges to face.