Cirrus@Austlit

'Rebecca Oakes is just thirteen when her mother, Suzannah, dies in the small town of Marengo, NSW in 1873. With her older brother and sisters soon involved in their own lives, Rebecca is left alone to care for her aging father. But Rebecca has a dream of her own, a dream to make something of her life, to make a difference in the world around her. However, it is not just her family constraints that stand in the way of Rebecca's dreams. The Australian society in the late 1800s is one where it is hardly possible for a woman to get an education, one where women have no property rights, no vote, no voice. Rebecca will have to fight the systems and structures of her time if she is to achieve her goals. She'll have to find the courage and strength to stand against sexual, religious and emotional pressures to make her way towards her dream, influenced by one man who hates her enough to do anything to thwart her plans, and another, who loves her enough to do anything to make her happy. ' (Publisher's blurb)

'Rebecca Maher is a happily married woman, looking forward to the future with her husband, Andrew. Only one thing mars her peace. She is alienated from her sister, Mary. James Taylor, Mary's husband, is a cruel and bigoted man, who hates Rebecca because of her religious and political views. Rebecca, with the support of her husband and her sister-in-law and life long friend, Sarah Oakes, is determined to find a way to stop James from hurting her sister and her nieces and nephews. But Mary resists Rebecca's attempts to help. She is determined to hold onto hope that James will change, until one night when his temper causes devastating results and changes her life forever.

'The story also involves the families at home during World War 1.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.