Peter Joyce

Against a background of life in the Staffordshire Potteries - a gossipy, myopic, savage community - Anna receives an inheritance but has to contend with her miserly father.

Using conventions of the Christmas story established by Dickens in the late 1840s, Trollope relates the problems facing a young sheepfarmer in outback Australia. Harry Heathcote thwarts the envious ex-convict neighbours who harbour his disgruntled former employees and attempt to set fire to his pastures.

For the people of Malta in 1942, the British Army represent their only hope of defending their lone outpost in Nazi waters. It is Max Chadwick's job to reassure the islanders, but with the violence on the war-ravaged island escalating daily, he embarks on a private investigation hidden from the eyes of superiors, friends and the woman he loves.

Horace Holly and his ward Leo Vincey travel to a lost kingdom in the African interior. There they discover a primitive race of natives and a mysterious white queen named Ayesha who reigns as the all-powerful "She-who-must-be-obeyed". Their encounter with this all-powerful queen ends in horror and tragedy.

Having been married for over 40 years, Arthur Pepper is mourning the loss of his wife. Finding the courage to go through her possessions, he happens upon a charm bracelet that he has never seen before. What follows is a surprising adventure that takes Arthur on a journey that leads him to find healing, self-discovery, and love in the most unexpected of places.