AN INNOCENT MAIDEN

Dewla O'Donough has never left her lovely ancestral home in Kerry, Ireland, walking through the forests with her cousin Thomas and telling stories with her father. But war calls Thomas away, and now her father is dying - and he takes action to make sure his only daughter is not left alone in the world.

A STOLID ENGLISHMAN

On his deathbed, he marries her to the son of his closest friend, Hugh Smith. Hugh doesn't understand many of Dewla's ways, but slowly grows to love his shy wife and brings her home to the noisy, soot-stained city - and to his cruel mother and sisters, who make Dewla's life a misery while Hugh is at the office.

A MESALLIANCE MADE IN GRIEF

When Dewla receives a letter, her mother-in-law immediately sees a way to undermine her son's awful marriage and get rid of this "wild hoyden" once and for all. Will the newlyweds' marriage survive? Or will these new revelations end their fragile romance for good?