A brand-new novel from the RNA award-winning author of Bobby's War

It's 1942 and the Second World War is raging on. Maggie Carpenter led a seemingly quiet life as a teacher in Manchester, but as the fighting intensified, she made the decision to abandon everything she knows to do her bit for the war effort. As part of an army of girls working on the canals to deliver essential supplies around the country, Maggie's world is far from comfortable. She has to share a tiny cabin with two strangers, where there's no running water and a questionable lavatory set-up, and carry out back-breaking work from dawn until dusk.

As Maggie and her colleagues get used to their new existence, they grow gradually closer, but they soon realise that everyone has secrets. Maggie had reasons other than the war for fleeing Manchester while well-to-do Elizabeth is on the run from her own woes. And when the girls find themselves in a bit of bother, a young Army padre comes to their rescue. Against her better judgement Maggie finds herself drawn to this mysterious man, but as a woman scarred by her past, can she really let him in and learn to trust again?