Cirrus@Austlit

'Singapore in the 1860s is exotic and yet terrifying for a penniless Englishwoman, alone and vulnerable after her mother's death. Too pretty to obtain a governess's job, Isabella accepts an offer from a Chinese merchant, Mr Lee, to teach him English and live with his family.

'Two years later Bram Deagan arrives in Singapore, determined to make his fortune as a trader. Mr Lee sees a way to expand his business connections to Australia and persuades Isabella to marry Bram.

'They set up a bazaar in Fremantle, much bigger than the shop Bram had originally planned.He has help from other people, but the ideas are his and Isabella's.

'But the past casts a long shadow, and Bram and his wife face unexpected dangers. Will they find a way to achieve their dream of a successful trading business? And can they find happiness and love with each other?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Ismay Deagan has one wish in the world – to leave Ireland and join her brother, Bram, in Australia. But her father has other ideas and orders her to marry their vicious neighbour Rory Flynn, even though she can’t stand him.

'After Rory brutally attacks her, Ismay runs away, disguising herself as an impoverished young widow. When she meets Adam Tregear on the ship, she finally starts to believe her dreams of future happiness may come true.

'Before she reaches Australia, however, she’s flung into adventures in Suez, Ceylon and Singapore. Dare she tell Adam the truth about who she really is? Does he have secrets of his own? Or will her past catch up with her and ruin her new-found happiness?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Bram Deagan dreams of bringing his family from Ireland to join him in Australia, where he now runs a successful trading business. But when a typhus epidemic strikes Ireland, it leaves the Deagan family decimated. And, with other members of the family scattered round the world, there is only Maura Deagan left to look after her orphaned nieces and nephew.

'Forced to abandon her own ambitions, and unsure whether she is ready to become a mother figure to three young children, Maura recognises that their only hope is to join Bram in far-away Australia. So they set sail on the SS Delta, which will carry them there, via the newly opened Suez Canal.

'It is only when a storm throws her and fellow passenger Hugh Beaufort together that Maura realises this journey may also give her a chance to realise a dream she set aside years ago – to have a family of her own. That is, until someone from Hugh’s past threatens to jeopardise everything.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Bram Deagan has a thriving trading business, a beautiful wife and a growing family. Since he has a gift for matchmaking and wishes to see his friends Dougal and Mitchell happily married too, he doesn't hesitate to suggest they find wives.

'In England, Eleanor Prescott has not forgotten the ship's captain who was a true friend to her. Dougal McBride told her to come to him if she was free. When her ailing husband dies, she wonders if she dare return to Western Australia. Will Dougal still want her after nearly a year?

'Mitchell Nash has asked his cousin in England whether he knows any suitable lady. Though what sort of woman would make such an arduous voyage to marry someone she's never met? For one widow, however, desperate to keep her young son from a cruel relative's clutches, Mitchell's invitation is a lifeline she will grasp with both hands.

'Both Eleanor and Jacinta bravely take a huge risk on the chance of happiness and set off for Australia. But for Jacinta at least, the troubles of her old life can't be easily left behind.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'1871. When Fergus Deagan's wife dies in childbirth, she makes him promise to take their family to Western Australia to join his brother Bram, also to marry again. She's right. His young sons and newborn daughter do need a mother's love and he needs something different.

'Disowned by her father for becoming pregnant, Cara Payton bears a stillborn baby. She's in deep despair, until a plea to wetnurse a motherless baby gives her life new purpose. When Fergus proposes marriage, she accepts. She respects him and is happy to stay with the baby she now loves.

'During the voyage to Australia, she and Fergus draw closer. Then her past rears its ugly head and they face a terrible crisis.

'When they finally get to Fremantle, Fergus and Bram, always rivals, struggle to make friends. To make matters worse, Bram has financial problems and there is no railway where Fergus can find engineering work. Can the two brothers solve their problems? Will the newcomers find a way to build a new life?' (Publication summary)