It is 1754, when the peace of Anna’s idyllic village life is rocked by the arrival of an overwhelmingly handsome new carpenter in Heartbourne. Raphael De Vine strides into her father’s church – over nine years after she has walked down its aisle as a bride. Determined to remain faithful to her husband and her family life, at Will’s request, Anna considers moving to Frampton, to escape from the danger of her unexpected, unsought for and yet, uncontrollable new passion. But will the distance remove her passionate dreams of Raphael? Will her husband begin to guess at her reason for leaving behind her dearest friends? Will she foresee the possible peril of moving to the very home of Nathan Lunsford himself; a man she has been warned of as a maybe murderer, in a fireside tale told by her wise Uncle Christopher? Shadows swirl around Anna’s once snow white life; difficult questions whirl about her mind like curious glowing puppets, each holding out a deceptive looking, darkened pitfall. Meanwhile, English village life in Georgian times rolls on: Millie Price pours forth an everlasting font of frivolous gossip; Retty Gables still needs watching, if there’s a bottle of brandy about and Abraham and Emmaline Gables often look at each other archly, before always making up. Mr Turner may notice the comings and goings of the great and powerful men up at Horscroft House but then, nobody much minds among the broader population of Heartbourne, for there is far too much of shocking concern, in the antics of Violet De Vine, for all that to steal their attention…

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