‘We have to go, Miss. We can’t wait any longer.’ I hold the baby tighter as the lifeboat is lowered slowly into the water, hitting the rough sea with a splash. My eyes never leave the ship, searching, hoping to see the others and know they are safe…
London 1940. As the war rages in Europe, Rose Brown steps on board a ship bound for America, hoping to escape the danger. She’s frightened, but her widowed mammy and three sisters in Ireland need the money she earns as nanny to the rich Townsend family. But while Rose plays with baby Sarah in the salty spray on deck, disaster strikes, and the ocean liner begins to sink. In the chaos, Rose and the baby are separated from the family.
Pulled from the sea with the child still in her arms, Rose is afraid as never before. And when she arrives in Brooklyn to search for Sarah’s family she feels completely adrift in this unfamiliar land where looming Brownstones line the streets, and workmen in flat caps jostle her on the sidewalks. But just when Sarah’s father is within reach, the howling air-raid sirens and deafening bombs she thought she’d left behind shatter her plans once again as tragic news arrives from Pearl Harbor.
As fear and panic grips America, what heartbreaking sacrifices will Rose have to make to protect her precious charge? And can she reunite the family before it is too late?
An emotional, heart-wrenching story of love and family set across Ireland and America during the Second World War. Perfect for fans of Jean Grainger, Lisa Wingate and Diney Costeloe.