Publisher's Synopsis
An innocent life, a death that changes everything and a journey to the other side. Australia. A country that Mary O'Connor has only heard of through fearful whispers and hushed voices. It's told that petty criminals are sent to the new colony and once they leave they don't come back. Life in rural Ireland in 1834 is not easy. Money and food are scarce and young Mary is torn away from her pauper family and thrown into a dingy, lice infested gaol cell with the evil Deirdre. Mary survives and eventually finds herself aboard the 'Margaret', a convict ship bound for New South Wales, knowing she'll never see her family again. The shy lass meets the older and wiser Maggie who turns her world upside down with a simple kiss, breathing life back into her fragile heart. Maggie is the love Mary hadn't dared dream of, and as they get close to the colony she looks forward to their life together with a new purpose. Upon arriving at the colony Maggie is ripped away, and Mary's tender heart is left exposed as she's left alone again, trying to find her way in an unforgiving world. Can she find Maggie before it's too late? What the innocent Mary doesn't realise is that Maggie is hiding a secret. A secret that has the power to destroy Mary's life forever.
