
Author: Ruth Kirby-Smith
Release Date: February 2021
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-913071-99-8
RRP: £9.99
Olivia returns home to Ireland for her grandmother Sarah’s funeral in 1984. Sarah was a loving matriarch in the village of Lindara. So why would someone spit at her coffin?
In 1910 Sarah marries Theo, a widower deeply involved in the anti-home rule movement. She promises to keep her personal views private. One night in 1914 Sarah and her stepson Samuel are unintentionally drawn into gunrunning, which compromises her principles.
Theo slides into dementia but pesters Sarah constantly about something called the settlement. She is mystified until one morning in 1919, when she opens a letter and gets the biggest shock of her life. As the truth unfolds events occur to change her life forever, and she is torn between protecting Samuel and her unborn child.
After the funeral Olivia finds a red leather notebook to discover that Sarah has taken the secret of that fateful night in 1919 to her grave.
About the Author

Ruth Kirby-Smith grew up in Northern Ireland and studied
politics at Queen’s University, Belfast during the civil
rights era. She completed a Masters in City Planning and
worked in Stormont and London. In 1978 she joined a team
at Cambridge University undertaking research into the regeneration
of the inner city. When her children were born, she
took time out and set up a business, designing and selling baby
products, which she ran successfully for the next thirty years.
Now retired, she lives in Leeds with her husband and enjoys
travelling, reading, writing, golf, tennis and spending time with
her grandchildren.
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