The pretty Arnold sistera have geown up on their father's farm and yearn for something more out of life than drudgery and toil. Ellen, loyal and honest, is her father's favourite, but Georgina is implusive and unreliable and can't please her father who's never loved her. The big house, Grindle Hall, offers them both a chance of betterment, but while Ellen follows the steady path, Georgina takes a darker road and soon, her actions will have fateful consequences for them all. Only Ellen can help them, but will a sisters love be enough?

As the story unfolds there are quite a few surprises and unexpected turns that keep the reader gripped. There are not too many characters so it is nice and easy to follow. Maureen Bancroft has never learned the art of putting herself first. As a widow with a gentle temperament and humble ways, she's been easy to take advantage of. All that changes when an unexpected windfall comes her way. Determined to make up for lost time, she decides to take a holiday, needing a companion, she looks up her friend, Barbara Hayle. Paradise cottage in Guisethorpe has sat empty for some time now that is until Florence Stanville buys it with her little dog Scamper. Florence has fond memories of the seaside town as a child and it is this that has bought her here.Maureen Bancroft is such a loving caring person, bringing up two girls on her own meant life has been a struggle and she has had to watch every penny, so when she inherits a large amount of money she feels it's time to change. With encouragement from her girls Sylvia and Eliza she decides to take a little holiday, needing a friend to go with her she looks up her old school friend Barbara Hayle. Such a lovely book. I love all of Josephine's book each one with its own warmth, losing her is such a sad loss in the writing world and there is going to be a big hole. She has recently lost her mum and on with her dying breath murmurs part of a secret Florence is keen to find out more about. Once on their holiday, Maureen discovers Barbara is not all she seems, She is selfish, bossy, and rude to Maureen., who now wishes she hadn't let her into her life and left the past where it should be.