'A ship is wrecked in 1887 near the small country town of Colego. The sea throws up one troubled survivor who claims to know only her name.
'Glenys Osborne's compelling first novel traces the impact of the loss of the Lucy on the town of Colego and how the tidal pull of this event shapes and disturbs those who come after.' (From the publisher's website.)
Dedication:
'You mustn't keep pets,' a nameless voice said.../if you aren't prepared to look after them.'/It was a pity nobody had ever said that to God.
Rebecca West, The Birds Fall Down, 1989 [66], London: Virago, p. 197