Taking Steaphan Home (Paperback)

1940. With the Phoney War in England finally at an end, a young, naive Primary School teacher dreaming of life as a Wren, survives a brutal sequence of events involving hidden romance and tragedy. When one shocking incident throws her life upside down, she suddenly finds herself responsible for an orphaned pupil and together they embark on an emotional adventure beginning with a move away from the horrors of the Blitz to the challenges and rewards of farm life. Her love for the little boy grows daily and a new beginning for them both at a boarding school involves the rescue of a Dutch refugee and a sinister discovery with disturbing consequences, while the puzzle of the true identity of the orphaned boy is slowly revealed. As the months go by, their courage and commitment to each other develops to form a close bond with separation unimaginable until the story moves from one end of the country to the other where the descent of an ancient Scottish family is altered by the lineage taking an unexpected turn. Sense of duty inspires her to accomplish the mission she so nervously accepted and numerous journeys to complete the predetermined task with new encounters, often fraught with danger, see the once naive young teacher increase in strength and maturity allowing her to finally reach her goal. Just as peace and harmony appear on the horizon, another set of circumstances undermines her newly found contentment when bad news reaches the Highlands and loyalty to her own family forces her to make a choice. Unwelcome changes eventually lead to her acceptance that something more demanding should fill the huge gap left in her life, but together with the likelihood of being called-up for war work anyway, the conclusion is still a surprise.