As her mother lies dying, 12-year-old Lucy Fallow promises to look after her younger siblings and keep house for her father and two older brothers. Over the following years the Depression tightens its grip. Times are hard, and Lucy's situation is made more difficult by the ominous presence of Tom Crawford, who lives next door, the eldest son of her mother's lifelong friend. Lucy's growing friendship with Tom's younger brother Jacob, only fuels Tom's obsession with her. He persuades Lucy's father and brothers to work for him on the wrong side of the law as part of his plan to force Lucy to...

The entralling story of when Connie Bell meets Dan Stewart and the dark and terrible history between their families threatens to destroy them.

A powerful and absorbing saga, moving from Sunderland to London in the 1940s, as Sarah Brown dreams of a better life.

Rosie Ferry is hardly more than a child when her father and brothers are lost in a pit disaster. Her mother falls apart, leaving Rosie in charge of her two sisters. Rosie is determined to keep the family together. She secures a job and finds a man she could love. But life is never that simple.

The heart-rending story of forbidden love in a small fishing village at the turn of the century.

Growing up on a small, struggling farm on the outskirts of Sunderland in the early 1900s, Polly Farrow has a tough life, but she has gifts money can't buy - a joyful disposition and a loving heart. And her heart belongs to her beloved cousin, Michael. Polly knows that one day they'll be man and wife. But a terrible secret is to shatter her dreams for ever: Michael is her half-brother, the fruit of an incestuous relationship between her father and his own sister - Michael's mother. The lovers are rent apart and Polly is left to bear the responsibility of the farm alone - for her father kills...

Amidst the hardships of the 1920s, Carrie McDarmount's happiness is threatened for ever because of one terrible mistake.

A tragic house fire kills her parents, but Constance Shelton escapes, rescued by her 8-year-old neighbour, Matt Heath. She is brought up by her grandparents, but the two children become inseparable and these strong feelings turn into love. But Matt sees her only as a sister and Constance can do nothing when he proposes to another girl.

An only child, 15-year-old Angeline Stewart is heartbroken when her beloved parents are killed in a coaching accident and she is given into the care of her uncle. Naive and innocent, Angeline is easy prey for the handsome and ruthless Oswald Golding, who is looking for a rich heiress to solve the money troubles his gambling and womanizing has caused. On her wedding night, Angeline enters a nightmare from which there is no awakening. Oswald proves to be more sadistic and violent than she could ever have imagined. On learning she is expecting a child, Angeline makes plans to run away and take...