The best scavenger and saleswoman on her mother's scruffy clothes stall, Maggie Beaton has been forced by circumstances to be self-reliant. So when she meets the members of her local suffrage group, all of them more prosperous than she, Maggie is determined to prove herself to them - with devastating consequences. With war looming, she suddenly finds herself an outcast, spurned by her family, her workmates and her friends. Her only support is George Gordon, a militant trade unionist - and, despite Maggie's shattering stints in prison, for a blissful time his love is enough. But as war breaks out they are forced apart, and Maggie finds herself reduced to the workhouse. Slowly she finds the strength to begin a struggle of a different kind - the search for a lost child who has given her life new meaning...

Author Biography

Janet MacLeod Trotter was born in Newcastle and grew up in Durham. She has been editor of the Clan MacLeod magazine, a columnist on the Newcastle Journal and has had numerous short stories published in women's magazines, as well as a novel for teenagers. Her first novel, THE HUNGRY HILLS, gained her a place on the shortlist of The Sunday Times' Young Writers' Award. She lives in Northumberland with her husband and their two young children. Find out more about Janet and her other popular novels at: www.janetmacleodtrotter.com