Sanctuary

One stranger’s arrival uncovers a family history shaped by war, ambition and divided loyalties.

Sarah Leigh’s life in remote rural Ireland is turned upside down when Terence stumbles out of a blizzard and into her life during another harsh winter and another Irish war. What did he endure before becoming a refugee? And what is the secret family shame that demands his silence?

It is Sarah’s sister, Evelyn, who gradually coaxes the past from the mysterious stranger in impoverished rural Antrim during the 1640s rebellion. Dispossessed and with nowhere else to go, Terence settles in bleak North Antrim among the Scottish planters, trying to make a new life. But his past continues to haunt him.

To understand Terence, Evelyn must also understand his grandfather, Myles: a country boy who, as Ireland’s most handsome man, travels to Rome, becomes a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, is tortured in the Tower of London, and eventually returns to Ireland as one of the chief political figures of his era, caught between loyalty to the Crown and his countrymen.

For both men, survival comes at a price, and each must find meaning in a life shaped by war, displacement and divided loyalties.