When Jo, daughter of Mine manager Rick Heron, finds herself in danger on the Northumbrian cliffs, she is rescued by two widely differing men. Chris Ashton is a rebellious survivor from the Peterloo massacre; Dr Gil Talbot comes from a respectable middle-class background. But the three have one thing in common radicalism. Jo’s cousin Came visits Heronbrook from Amberwood, his Hampstead home. The house was a gift from Charles II to a disreputable ancestress. Came seems strange and unhappy. Jo thinks his attitude stems from the inexplicable disappearance of the girl with whom he is in love. But he reacts oddly at the mention of his mother, Savannah, the widowed Lady Amberwood, and to his brother, Bran.
Jo’s sympathies are with the plight of the miners at Jingling Cat, owned by her uncle Jared. Her attempts to alleviate their misery leads her into further danger and to the edge of despair.
