England, 1846: Bella Farrow is a beautiful young widow, making a good living on her own land since her short but happy marriage. But no one knows the truth about Bella. Just six years before, she’d become a fugitive from the law after desperation drove her to a terrible decision. And this could still see her imprisoned – or worse – if found out.

Her husband had never known the truth about her, and she wants to make sure that no one else does. All she wants is to live in peace.

But her quiet corner of the countryside is changing. And when an ambitious young railway engineer named James Earlham arrives in the village, she can’t help her growing attraction to him. She wants to be honest with him, but the past she’s worked so hard to keep hidden needs to stay that way forever.

But when she discovers James’s history, Bella realises that the man she has allowed herself to trust – who knows her secret and who holds her future in his hands – has a connection to her own secret past.

Now she has another decision to make: walk away and keep herself safe, or risk everything to confront James, and finally free her heart from the burden it carries.