Evie Grace

Deal, Kent, 1812. Eighteen-year-old Winnie Lennicker yearns for a peaceful life as a respectable married woman. However, when she becomes involved in her family's free-trading operations and caught by the Revenue, she is sent before the magistrates. Forced to confess that she is with child, now more than ever, Winnie is determined to give up smuggling. But the only way she can support herself and her unborn child is to carry on.

An opportunity presents itself to carry despatches on behalf of British agents and spies, and gold for Wellington's army. Needing the money, Winnie can't afford to refuse, but the journey across the Channel is treacherous. When Winnie discovers the despatches she's carrying aren't what they seem, she's determined to right her wrongs in the hope of achieving her dream and leaving the free trade behind for good.

Deal, Kent. 1811. The heart of the British smuggling business. The Lennicker sisters live in a cottage nestled amongst the counting houses, shops and inns, where the smugglers plot and the seamen drink. When their father - a fisherman and smuggler - is murdered by a rival gang, the eldest daughter, Louisa, is forced to carve out a living by trading illegally in French lace. She will do anything to keep a roof over her sisters' heads, but what she truly desires is a way of wreaking revenge...

With the threat of Napoleon approaching Britain's shores, the stakes couldn't be higher. One wrong move and Louisa could risk losing not only her sisters, but her life...

Kent, 1876. With doting parents and siblings she adores, 16-year-old Rose Cheevers leads a contented life at Willow Place in Canterbury. She dreams of following in her mother's footsteps and becoming a teacher. Then one traumatic day turns the Cheevers' household upside-down, and Rose is forced to flee with the younger children. Desperate, she seeks refuge in a remote village with a long lost grandmother. But safety comes at a price, and the arrival of a young stranger from her past raises uncomfortable questions about what the future holds.

Margate, 1884. When seventeen-year-old Hannah Bentley fled the family home, she never dreamed she'd find her feet working as a nurse on the children's ward at the Royal Sea Bathing Infirmary. She adores her patients and the sea air, and looks forward to a time when she'll have put away enough money so her younger sister can join her. But when her sister suddenly turns up unannounced, she brings more trouble than Hannah bargained for. As Hannah is forced to risk everything to keep her sister out of trouble, she must somehow find the strength to save herself too…

Kent, 1815. When the beautiful but naïve Grace Lennicker falls for Isaiah Feasey, son of a rival smuggling family and owner of a local tavern, her sisters try to intervene. But as tensions grow, there is another suitor also hoping to win her hand in marriage, the dashing and more favourable Albert Enderby, a young lieutenant in the Revenue.

Grace is unwittingly drawn back into the world of smuggling that her sisters fought hard to leave behind, and as violence erupts, she finds herself unable to stand by, knowing the rival gangs will kill anyone who stands in their way. When her husband becomes involved, Grace is forced to make a difficult decision - turn him in and risk her life, or stay loyal and risk the lives of those she loves . . .

Dover, 1864: Violet Rayfield leads a happy life with her family in a beautiful terrace on Camden Crescent. But Violet's seemingly perfect world is shattered when her father makes a decision that costs her family everything. Now Violet must sacrifice all she holds dear, including the man she loves. As Violet strives to pick up the threads of her existence, a series of shocking revelations leaves her feeling even more alone. But where one door closes, another opens, and the embroidery skills Violet perfected while a young woman of leisure win her vital work. If she can find the strength to stitch the remnants of her family back together, there might just be a little hope after all…