Lydia Halley longs to leave home. At twenty-one and working in the local button factory her life seems empty and unfulfilled. After the tragedy of her mother's death she decides to take up a position in a city many miles from home. Her father laments her departure but for Lydia it is the freedom she has yearned for. Taking up lodgings her new life begins. It was in the beautiful city gardens that she first met Guy Anderson but thought no more about the handsome stranger. Until she chances upon him once more. And so begins a friendship which blossoms into love, until one day a telegram from Italy tells of Guy's father's terrible accident and the need for his presence. And their passionate leave-taking has dramatic consequences for them both.
One woman's struggle against great odds, with a heart tragically divided. Having spent her childhood with a cold, unfeeling stepmother, Lily Clair's life is changed for ever when she is sent as general maid to old friends of her family. Soon into the dull routine comes Joel, handsome son of a wealthy entrepreneur, and for Lily, young and vulnerable, their meeting is a revelation. Riding high on the crest of her new-found happiness she cannot be prepared for the violent attack that comes in the night, or for its devastating, life-changing consequences. But live with the consequences she must as, with a heart torn, she deals with one hand of fate after another. Building to an unforgettable climax set against a plague-ravaged rural England, Lily Clair's story is one of love, passion, betrayal, tragedy and longing. In her search for happiness, she is a woman you will never forget . . .
When Grace Hutchinson is orphaned at the age of twenty-one, her world falls apart. Left alone to look after her little sister and her difficult, 'different' brother, she doesn't know where to turn. And when her job as a governess comes to an abrupt end, the little family face ruin. But there's no time to panic, and Grace is forced to think practically. Accepting a job as companion to Mrs Slater at least means the children have a roof over their heads, but it also throws Grace into an impossible situation. Then when wealthy Charles Osborne offers to marry Grace it seems that their problems are over, but Charles is an obsessive, sometimes frightening man. Is Grace about to pay too high a price for her family's safety.
