The heartbreaking tale of a little girl let down by the people she should have been able to trust.
A powerful story of abuse, neglect and hope from this well-loved writer.
When a mysterious fire kills her adoptive parents, Madeleine's worst fear comes true - she and her beloved brother Oliver are separated. Worse still, Maddie is blamed for starting the fire and, labelled a difficult child, she is sent to a children's home. Far from idyllic, and buried deep in the countryside, the home well conceals the misery of its young occupants. Subjected to a harsh regime of abuse and degradation, Maddie makes a brave attempt to escape. But her brief weeks of freedom are thwarted when she is caught and taken back to River House.
Maddie clings to her determination to one day be reunited with Oli, and it is this which gives her the strength to endure what lies ahead. For she knows she can rely only on herself - there is no one else to keep her safe...
A touching and powerful new novel from a wonderful writer - Bookseller
Powerful and harrowing - Peterborough Evening Telegraph
The tearjerker of the season...a heartrending tale - Western Mail
Rosie Goodwin is the author of over twenty bestselling novels and the recent Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller A Mother's Grace. She is the first author in the world to be allowed to follow three of Catherine Cookson's trilogies with her own sequels, Tilly Trotter's Legacy, The Mallen Secret and The Sand Dancer. Having worked in the social services sector for many years, then fostered a number of children, she is now a full-time novelist. Rosie lives in Nuneaton, the setting for many of her books, with her husband and their beloved dogs.