It is 1946, and the eve of the harshest winter for a hundred years. Servicemen are pouring home from the war to a Britain beset by stringent shortages and a desperate housing crisis. Anxieties are heightened by the unexpected arrival of the soldiers of the Second Polish Corps, whose refusal to go back to Poland is regarded with impatience and suspicion.

As anti-Polish propaganda reaches its height, newly demobbed Billy Greer reluctantly agrees to take on a young Polish veteran named Wladyslaw Malinowski as a labourer on his uncle's withy farm in the heart of the Somerset wetlands.

Stella, the local schoolteacher, has been waiting for the return of Lyndon Hanley, a hero of the Burma Campaign, but increasingly finds herself drawn to the beguiling Wladyslaw.

As the country is brought to its knees by blizzards and hardships, the tensions of post-war life lead to mistrust, accusation and ultimately death.

'A very fine novel indeed' Independent

'A deeply atmospheric novel' Daily Mail

'The characters' world envelops the reader completely' Sunday Times

'An atmospheric, powerful, moving and dramatic tale . . . It's terrific' Bookseller

The Somerset levels. 1946. The war is over, but the personal turmoil has just begun ...

About the Author
Clare Francis is the author of eleven international bestsellers, including Deceit, Betrayal and A Death Divided. She has also written three non-fiction books about her voyages across the oceans of the world. She lives in London.


Book Information
ISBN 9781509807048
Author Clare Francis
Format Paperback
Page Count 480
Imprint Macmillan
Publisher Pan Macmillan
Weight(grams) 748g
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 156mm * 28mm