How can you build a new life on toxic foundations? Emma Willshire has overcome plenty of obstacles in her life. From student bride to single mum of a son, Owen, but she has found happiness with her second husband, Paul and another child, Mollie. Emma's dark days seem far behind her until a fatal accident happens at Paul's work and he is held responsible. On holiday in France, trying to leave his problems behind, Paul's behaviour turns erratic. On impulse, he buys a cheap, dilapidated property and, to Emma's dismay, persuades her they can renovate it into a holiday home. As the couple strive to renovate their marriage, and their French ruin to open a small business, shadows from the past threaten their happiness and safety. Escape to a new life in France seemed like the only solution, but leads to heart-breaking loss for Emma involving infidelity, kidnap and a near murder.

Written by the winner of Winchester Writers' Festival prize for the opening pages of a novel, Helen Matthews is the author of the best-selling book `After Leaving the Village' - an absorbing story of deception, guilt, betrayal and the resilience of the human spirit.