1877, Durham.

After a traumatic and harrowing incident at the hands of a stranger, a woman gives birth to a child. However, she is persuaded by her husband to give him up to a local couple.

On the same dark and stormy night, a local pit owner turns his wife out onto the bleak moors, telling her son she is evil. The woman is never seen again.

1895, Durham.

Twenty years later, these seemingly unrelated events have shaped the characters of two unloved boys, who have now grown to be men. They, in turn, are about to change the lives of two innocent young women as the past reaches out and casts a shadow over the present.

Praise for Elizabeth Gill

‘Original and evocative - a born storyteller’ Trisha Ashley

‘A wonderful book, full of passion, pain, sweetness, twists and turns. I couldn’t put it down’ Sheila Newberry

‘Elizabeth Gill writes with a masterful grasp of conflicts and passions’ Leah Fleming

‘An enthralling and satisfying novel that will leave you wanting more’ Catherine King

‘If you love Catherine Cookson then you will love Elizabeth Gill’ Northern Echo