Windsor Selection S.
2 total works
Since Annie's French husband was killed in the First World War, she has put her son first in everything. Her motherly instincts now tell her that Davie, at ten years old, would benefit from having a father, and when Fergus Cameron proposes to her, Annie knows that he can offer them both comfort and security. But is that reason enough to marry? Annie is beginning to feel there must be more to life and when she and Davie bump into Richard Ross near their home in Kew, her instincts are proved correct. Richard has an easygoing charm and rangy good looks and they strike up the sort of bond that Annie yearns for. She agrees to become his wife. But strange things are soon unsettling Annie. Richard is curiously keen for her and Davie to visit Paris - the place of Davie's birth. Annie has long had a phobia about water so Richard insists on travelling with Davie alone, a suggestion which Annie accepts, but one she is soon to regret bitterly.
Beginning in the year 1929, this is the intensely gripping story of the relationships that develop between two families. Liam, a surly young man who is 'the wild card' of the novel, becomes entangled with Christine and with the British activities of the IRA. Ned, Christine's younger brother, an insecure and frail character, allows himself to be carried along in their savage and uncontrollable relationship, until the spotlight is turned on him and his affections for Liam. Meanwhile, at the height of WWII, Emma, Christine's younger sister, has fallen in love with Alex whom she marries but their happiness is marred when Alex's brother, Tom, is killed in battle leaving his family, but particularly his sister, Josie, distraught. Things turn sour when Ned's feelings are exposed after a vehement quarrel. The resulting estrangement from his sister and Liam and Ned's insecurity leaves him desperate for a revenge that ultimately causes the devastation of not just his family but also Liam's...