‘Dear Diary, I have so much to keep secret. Maybe I am cruel to leave. But I have no choice…’
Thirty-one-year old Clara’s family have called their cosy cottage in the grounds of Brellasham Manor ‘home’ her whole life. And when River, the owner’s son, returns after sixteen years away, at first Clara is wary. They shared their first kiss as teenagers before River moved halfway around the world, and his soulful brown eyes look just the same.
Clara’s first heartache isn’t the only memory overshadowing the manor. More than fifty years ago, Audrey Brellasham lived here as a young bride and filled the house with love, laughter and dancing. Until one night, she walked into the stormy sea and was never seen again.
When Clara finds Audrey’s old leather-bound diary tucked away, she’s certain that deciphering the coded messages inside will reveal the secret truth about this mysterious woman. And as River helps her explore Audrey’s locked attic bedroom, preserved from the night she disappeared and filled with her beautiful ballgowns, they’re soon laughing together and forgetting all the reasons they drifted apart.
But when River’s father announces the manor, and the cottage, will be sold to developers, Clara’s mother is devastated that everything she knows and loves is disappearing. And with the elderly owner clamming up at any mention of the past, it seems Audrey’s story is lost forever.
But if Clara keeps searching, will she be able to save her mother’s home? Or will solving the secrets of the diary tear apart River’s family, and destroy any chance of happiness between them?
