Description

A Novel by Sharon Dabell

Helen Taylor has been haunted by nightmares since her early childhood.  But it is not until she makes an astonishing discovery whilst visiting Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands that she begins to realise their true relevance.

This is not just Helen’s story however.  It follows the lives of two childhood lovers who grow up through the 1745 Jacobite rebellion, a period of history that very nearly changed the destiny of the British nation.  It follows the fortunes of one of the greatest Scottish clans who marched under the banner of Prince Charles Edward Stuart.  They defied the odds to win every battle but the last.  Yet in losing they surely fathered the phoenix which is the quintessence of Scotland today.

From childhood Isabel Cameron’s family has served clan Cameron well.  Those she loves most have risked and lost their lives for its honour.  But with the Prince’s call to arms at Glenfinnan in August 1745, Isabel and the man she loves are themselves propelled to the forefront of the campaign.  Edinburgh is retaken from the Elector of Hanover, the Highlanders triumph spectacularly over Sir John Cope’s redcoat army at Prestonpans and the Prince leads his followers as far south as Derby.  But there the fateful decision is taken to return to Scotland rather then proceed to London, and the following Spring sees bitter defeat in the horror that was Culloden.

The life stories of Helen and Isabel are inseparably entwined as they both take the great risks to discover what truly links them across time, and to ensure that promises once made are kept regardless of consequences.