A stunning new family saga from the Sunday Times bestseller, about a child separated from her mother, and the couple who bring her in from the cold.

Hull, 1856. The wealthy Ripley family have always looked out for the poor of Hull - particularly those who have no roof over their heads, save for a cellar below ground where they shelter from the elements.

One dark winter’s night, during a torrential storm, the cellar floods and the Ripleys rush to help. Among those rescued is a dark-haired little girl who speaks a language no one can understand. Some claim to have seen her mother - an English woman, fair-haired and beautiful in silken clothes - but no one knows where she is now, and the only person who could have told them died the previous night.

Who is this mysterious child? And can the Ripleys protect her from the storm?