A stirring and compelling saga from one of the rising stars of the genre, set in Birmingham and Ireland. Maria Foley thinks she's the luckiest young woman in the world. Even though there's a war on, this means her fisherman father's been able to rent his boat yard to the Navy for a generous wage, and the money will enable her to attend the prestigious Grafton Academy in Dublin. Not many girls manage to leave their small village, and Maria's won a scholarship through her own special talent at dress design. She can't wait. The dream falls apart when Sam Foley misses his footing down at the docks and is paralysed for life. Crazed with grief and guilt, his wife is no help and so it falls to Maria to look after them. Grimly she gets a job sewing uniforms, rather than study fabric design. When her true love marries another, she doesn't blame him, although it hurts; who'd take her on now? So when her father's former colleague Barney begins to take an interest, she feels grateful. Barney has his own reasons for finding a respectable girl: he needs a cover, for his so-called 'delivery job' turns out to be smuggling. Finally he is discovered and must flee, to Maria's uncle in Birmingham, who sets Barney up with a prime job at Dunlops. All too soon Barney's old habits re-emerge and he's sacked, while causing family havoc. It's the children who suffer, and one little girl in particular defends herself in the only way she knows -- with tragic consequences. Once again Maria must hold everything together, and she turns to what she knows best: dressmaking. It's the best decision she could have made -- for it draws someone very special back into her life! Anne Bennett's latest novel combines her trademark memorable characters, strong sense of time and place and plenty of high emotion in a wonderful read, which will appeal to saga fans everywhere.