An S Magazine MUST HAVE
'Beautiful' Adele Parks
'Life affirming and compelling!' Clare Mackintosh
'Tender and illuminating' Carys Bray
'Its characters pulse with life and energy . . . vividly rendered' Daily Mail
'Highly recommended' Viv Groskop


Spring 1944. As war threatens even the most remote English communities, a trainee lumberjill and an Italian Prisoner of War form a friendship in the Forest of Dean.

Both are outsiders. Both are in desperate, unspoken need.

Connie Granger arrived in the ancient forest alone. Fleeing tragedy in her devastated city, she hopes the Women's Timber Corps will give her a place of safety, and a place to protect the secret she carries.
Seppe is haunted by his memories of combat and loss but is surprised to find a certain liberty in his new surroundings.
They discover in each other a means to start again, to find a home. But Connie knows she cannot stay - and soon she must make a life-defining choice . . .

But is the price Connie must pay for her freedom too great?