AustLit

'Secrets and lies throw three lives into chaos in the last days of the nineteenth century

Colonial Sydney in the final weeks of the 19th century: a city striving for union and nationhood but dogged by divisions so deep they threaten to derail, not just the Federation, but the colony itself. There are chasms opening too when a clandestine note reaches the wrong hands in the well-to-do household of aspiring politician Alasdair Dunleavy and his wife Eleanor. Below stairs, their maid Alice faces a desperate situation with her wayward sister.

Colourful, immediate and involving, this is the sweeping story of three people, their passions and ambitions, and the far-flung ripples their choices will cause. Despite sharing a house, Eleanor, Alice and Alasdair are each alone in their torment and must each find some solution, but at what cost to themselves and those they love?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.