When artist Maddie inherits a house in Cornwall shortly after the death of her husband, she hopes it will be the fresh start she and her step-daughter Hannah desperately need.

Trevenen is beautiful but neglected, a rambling house steeped in history. Maddie is enchanted by it and determined to learn as much as she can about its past. As she discovers the stories of generations of women who've lived there before, Maddie begins to feel her life is somehow intertwined within its walls.

But Maddie's dream of a calm life in the countryside is far from the reality she faces. Still struggling with her grief and battling with Hannah, Maddie is unable to find inspiration for her painting and realises she may face the prospect of having to sell Trevenen, just as she is coming to love it.

And as Maddie and Hannah pull at the seams of Trevenen's past, the house reveals secrets that have lain hidden for generations.

This gorgeously sweeping debut from Liz Fenwick is touched with romance and mystery, a perfect summer read.

Anne Dover has recorded many audio books as well as appearing in TV and radio commercials and listeners in the North East will remember her Saturday night record show for Metro Radio in the late 1970s. Her TV appearances include Emmerdale Farm, Book Tower, Brideshead Revisited and A Kind of Loving.

(p) 2012 Soundings