Poignant and uplifting, political and personal loyalties are tested in 19th-century Sydney.

Colonial Sydney in the final weeks of 1899: a city striving for union and nationhood but dogged by divisions so deep they threaten to derail not just the Federation but the colony itself. There are chasms opening, too, when a clandestine note reaches the wrong hands in the well-to-do household of aspiring politician Alasdair Dunlevy and his wife, Eleanor. Below stairs, their maid Alice faces a desperate situation with her wayward sister. Despite sharing a house, Eleanor, Alice and Alasdair are each alone in their torment and must each find some solution, but at what cost to themselves and those they love? Evocative, immediate and involving, this is the sweeping story of three people, their passions and ambitions, and the far-flung ripples their choices will cause.

Maggie Joel