A sweeping story of love, loss and ultimate betrayal from the New York Times bestselling author

From New York Times bestselling author Susanna Kearsley

1707
An ill-fated expedition for the New World left Sophia Paterson an orphan, cared for by her uncle. On his passing, a distant relative offers what Sophia longs for most: a home. Slains Castle, on the rugged Scottish coast, is much more comfortable than she is accustomed to. But danger is right around the corner, as rebels conspire to bring the exiled James Stewart to Scotland to reclaim his crown.

Present day
Enchanted by the ruins of the castle, Carrie McClelland hopes to turn this all-but-forgotten story into her next novel. Settling in the nearby village, she creates a heroine named after one of her ancestors and starts to write.

Discovering her novel contains more than she researched, Carrie wonders if this is ancestral memory – making her the only living person to know what truly happened all those years ago. With each new chapter she uncovers the secrets of the past in a sweeping tale of love, loyalty and ultimate betrayal.

Praise for Susanna Kearsley

‘Sometimes an author catches lightning in a bottle, and Susanna Kearsley has done just that’
New York Journal of Books

‘A deeply engaging romance and a compelling historical novel’
Bernard Cornwell, author of The Last Kingdom

‘An epic romance for an epic season, by one of Canada’s best historical fiction writers’
The Globe and Mail

‘Kearsley is nothing less than a magician weaving together the past and the present in yet another marvellous, genre-bending, romantic, mysterious and utterly unputdownable novel’
M J Rose, author of Seduction

‘Fascinating, immersive and twisty – twists not only of plot, but of character and time’
Diana Gabaldon, author of the Outlander series

‘A terrific read, evocative and romantic’
Nicola Cornick, author of The Scandals of an Innocent

‘Will stay with you long after you put it down. Her deft touch with historical intrigue is matched only by her delivery of a contemporary heroine who is as unique as she is memorable’
Deanna Raybourn, author of The Dark Enquiry