1938. Mariette Carrera is a defiant and strong-willed seventeen-year-old. Her doting parents, Belle and Etienne, fear for her reputation in their small, gossipy New Zealand hometown. So, with the world on the brink of war, Mari leaves home on the SS Rimutaka, bound for London. Armed with the freedom she's longed for since childhood, Mari quickly falls for Morgan, the handsome cockney steward on board the ship. But once she reaches London, there are other temptations. Mari loves her new life, sophisticated friends and adoring aunt and uncle. Caught up in a whirl of dances and parties in the flittering West End, and earning her own money as a typist, finally she feels she is mistress of her own future. Until it is all snatched away by the war. As London endures the blitz, Mari's new life is blown apart. Forced from her loving new home, she ends up alone in the East End, worlds away from the glamorous London she knows. But there, amidst the destruction and despair, she finds the chance to make a difference. The only way that Mari can survive this war is to fight, with all the strength, selflessness and compassion with her...and only then will she find true happiness. Because Mari is a survivor...

Author Biography

Lesley Pearse was told as a child that she had too much imagination for her own good. When she grew up she worked her way through a number of jobs, including nanny, bunny girl, dressmaker and full-time mother, before, at the age of forty-nine, settling upon a career that would allow her gifts to blossom: she became a published writer. Lesley lives in Devon and has three daughters and four grandchildren. Connect with Lesley and keep up to date with what she's been doing: Follow her on Twitter @LesleyPearse Follow her on Facebook @LesleyPearseAuthor Sign up for her newsletter www.lesleypearse.com