One family. One legacy. One curse.

Hugh is a hardened miner from the Welsh Valleys who has seen the better part of his life pass him by. His daughter Evelyne, true to his fears, has lost her heart to a man from a troubled life on the road. Freedom , a handsome prizefighter is saved from the gallows only to do battle for the heavyweight championship of the world.

From the poverty of the Welsh pit valleys to the glories of the prize ring, from the dangers of Prohibition America to the terrors of Britain at war, Lynda La Plante delves into the lives of a remarkable family and the curse that forged their names...