An unforgettable novel about a young woman and her infant son abandoned at a seaside motel in
New England and the secrets of the townspeople who provide them with shelter. When June
arrives on the coast of New England baby in arms an untrustworthy man by her side Mabel-who
rents them a cabin-senses trouble. A few days later the girl and her child are abandoned. June
is soon placed with Mabel's friend Iris in town and her life becomes entwined with a number
of locals who have known one another for decades: a wealthy recluse with a tragic past a widow
in mourning a forsaken daughter returning for the first time in years with a stranger in tow
a lawyer whose longings he can never reveal and a kindly World War II veteran who serves as
the town's sage. Surrounded by the personal histories and secrets of others June finds the way
forward for herself and her son amid revelations of the others' pasts including loves-and
crimes-from years ago. In vivid nuanced prose Melanie Wallace-a writer with a tender regard
for the marginal the missing and the lost -explores the time-tested bonds of a small community
the healing power of friendship and love and whether the wrongs of the past can ever be made
right. Hilary Mantel
