Helpless, Saran Chandler stands by as her mother and younger sister are sold by the vile Enoch Jacobs and herself narrowly escapes the same fate. When Enoch drowns, Saran swears that she will not rest until she has secured her family's release, but - penniless and friendless - barely knows where to start. Saran's courage and virtue bring their own rewards: when she benefits from an act of kindness, she uses the gift to become a nailmaster in Wednesbury, a dark and grimy place, in thrall to the vicious Zadok Minch, whose godfearing exterior masks perverse tastes. Zadok Minch, the man who had once bought Saran's mother and sister to satisfy his evil lusts . . .

Author Biography

Meg Hutchinson left school at fifteen and didn't return to education until she was thirty-three, when she entered Teacher Training College and studied for her degree in the evenings. She lived for sixty years in Wednesbury, where her parents and grandparents spent all their lives, but now has a quiet little cottage in Shropshire where she can indulge her passion for storytelling. It is a passion that has reaped dividends, with her novels regularly appearing in bestseller lists.