by Charlotte Vale-Allen

Seventeen-year-old Hilary Forbes has spent the war years in her parents' London flat, refusing to be evacuated with her younger brother Colin. When she meets their neighbor's nephew, Claude deMartin, Hilary is at once taken with the handsome young man. And one reckless encounter leads to her becoming pregnant. Claude has returned to Switzerland. Hilary's parents are both involved in the war effort, and she's deeply afraid to tell her mother what has happened. But she does tell them and for reasons she could never guess her parents are surprisingly supportive.

Claude returns to London just after the birth of their daughter, Dianne, and does the honorable thing. He and Hilary are married and return to the family home in Switzerland with the baby. But theirs is an arid, loveless marriage and just at the point when Hilary is prepared to concede defeat and return to England, Claude makes an effort to preserve their relationship. A second daughter, Cece, is born.

After Claude's death and Hilary's disfigurement in an automobile accident, she moves with her daughters to Toronto. Too-British and constricted in upbringing, Hilary is unable to speak openly with Dianne who desperately needs the contact. Cece, easy-going and self-contained, chooses to live with her grandmother in Connecticut.

Only time and tragedy draw mother and daughter together in this taut exploration of the importance of communication between parents and children.

Published by Island Nation Press