Wasdale, England. 1966. Vicky is twelve years old, the youngest daughter of a well-to-do farmer, and already dreaming of more. Her inner life is complex – she worships her eldest brother, Chris, and envies her glamorous older sister, Toni. Life breathes promise when you’re young and Vicky’s story starts with that promise, charting her journey into womanhood alongside her family’s troubles.

Chris is in the grip of an obsession, divided loyalties and a confidence crisis – and the damage is collateral. Impassioned yet impotent, Vicky must accept that even heroes fall from grace. Meanwhile, she craves a family of her own – like her siblings and friends and like the women she eventually serves as a midwife – but when the time finally comes, the price is higher than she dared to imagine.

Set in an era when massive social reform altered attitudes to sex and sexuality, marriage, equality and environmental issues beyond recognition, this heart-warming novel imparts hope that it’s never too late to bridge the generation gap and heal the wounds of the past.