The events of this novel, set on the Northumbrian coast in the 1960s, take place over one day, a period during which everyone involved discovers that the consequences of an innocent meeting between two young people are far more significant than the event itself.

Only after returning from his funeral did Fiona Bailey realize how much she would miss Davey. Towards the end of his life she had discovered qualities about him she had previously overlooked. Now Fiona and her husband must look after Davey's son, Sammy, who may not find it easy to settle in.

Although Bridget told herself she had loved Lawrence for years, could she trust him? She decided that there were apt grounds for doubt of his loyalty, so she called off their marriage. Lawrence could not forgive Bridget for the humiliation of rejection, so he made his own plans to punish her.

The woman who presented herself at the offices of the respectable firm of London solicitors was, the receptionist decided, clearly a vagrant who had been sleeping on the streets. The clothes that hung on her frail body were filthy, and she seemed unable to speak. When she asked to see the firm's senior partner, Alexander Armstrong, she was at first shown the door - but when Mr Armstrong learned the name of his visitor, all the office staff were amazed at his reaction. For Irene Baindor was a woman with a past, and her emergence from obscurity was to signal the unravelling of a mystery that...

Jim Baxter was one of the greatest footballers Scotland has ever produced. But his career was over by the time he reached 30 and in 2001 he died at the early age of 61, the victim of a lifestyle that ultimately destroyed him. This biography charts the great man's rollercoaster years, his emergence at Ibrox as a world-class midfield player and the rapid decline as he pressed the self-destruct button and blew away his life as a footballer. Team-mates and friends tell how Baxter lived by his own rules and how he finally faced up to deat with a courage and dignity which impressed all who saw him...

Mary Ann is a young girl living in poverty in a dockland tenement on Tyneside, from the ages of eight to thirteen. She is determined to bring about a better way of life for her family and, to the amazement of the gentle parish priest, Father Owen, and the rage and consternation of her arch-enemy, Sarah Flanagan, Ann's tenacity eventually pays off.

Vanessa Ratcliffe is daughter of one of the town's richest men and her provocative manner often draws eyes in her direction. Angus Cotton is a rough diamond, living in filthy Ryder's Row, but as engineer at Affleck and Tate he's worth his weight in gold. Angus has ambitious plans for his future, plans that had never included Vanessa - until now.

Mary Walton is the apple of her father's eye; his only comfort during the dark years of the Depression when he is faced with unemployment. His only hope is that Mary will one day find a way to escape the poverty of the Tyneside slums. But when a secret is revealed these dreams are shattered and the lives of the Walton family change forever.

Dr Rodney Prince has never seen a girl look more out of place in the grime of the Fifteen Streets than Kate Hannigan. Her beauty and intelligence far outshine that of his hard, brittle, calculating wife. And as their paths continue to cross, Rodney cannot fail to be drawn towards her.

Catherine Cookson once again uses her gifts as a storyteller to follow the fortunes of Moira Conelly and a family conflict. Hector and Moira marry, each under the misapprehension that the other is wealthy, and the consequences spread far and wide.