The entrancing and heart-breaking story of a lost boy, a tragic love affair and a seafaring community's buried secrets finally coming to light.

The sea stole him from her. Could it bring him back?

Winter, 1900. A little boy washes up on the beach of a small fishing village in Scotland, barely alive. He bears an uncanny resemblance to teacher Dorothy's son, lost to the sea many years before.

When the village is snowed in, Dorothy agrees to look after the child until he can be returned home. But, as the past rises to meet the present, long-buried secrets in this tight-knit community start to come to light. And Dorothy finds herself thrown together again with the reclusive fisherman Joseph, after years of keeping their distance.

Bursting with tension and tenderness, this is an exquisite love story that delves into the griefs and hopes that can lie behind village gossip.

'A beautiful story of grief, hope and love; of dark snowy nights, the mysteries of the sea and, above all, redemption' Lucy Diamond, Sunday Times bestselling author of Something to Tell You

'Spectacular... a gift to readers everywhere...a treasure' Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Left Undone

'Rich in atmosphere and brimming with mystery... a poignant, spellbinding tale of loss and resilience.' Christina Baker Kline, New York Times No. 1 bestselling author