The hand of friendship can span a thousand miles… Pakistan Among the almond orchards of the Swat Valley, Zamir tends goats with his son, Raza. He must make a heartbreaking decision if he is to protect his youngest child from the Taliban. Afghanistan On a military base in Lashkar Gah, Ben lives on edge, wondering if his family will be the next to receive life-changing news from the front line. Cornwall And in a ramshackle house on the Cornish coast, Ben’s mother Delphi, an artist, offers a refuge to her grandson Finn, as he retreats from the changes he senses in his family. When Raza and Finn, two boys from impossibly different worlds, meet, they are united by their loneliness. But will their unexpected bond be enough to save not just each other, but also their families, just as all their lives are about to change forever? ’At once heartbreaking and uplifting, and its focus on the themes of war and loss, love and friendship across cultures is both topical and timeless: a powerful story from a writer operating at the height of her powers’ JANE JOHNSON, The Tenth Gift ‘Interweave[ing] the devastation exacted by war on the lives of two boys… [this] blistering story shows how no one is remote, connecting rural Cornwall with the Swat Valley of Pakistan’ GEORGIA KAUFMANN, The Dressmaker of Paris ‘Sara MacDonald writes with a lyrical quality that captivated me from the start’ AMANDA JENNINGS, The Storm
Author
Much of my life has been as a gypsy without roots. I travelled as a child, went to many schools, ending my education in a strict Catholic convent in Malta while my parents lived in Cyprus. I was set on an acting career and after working as an ASM in The Theatre Royal Windsor I won a place at the London Academy of Music and Drama. My acting career was brief. I went off to Germany, Norway, Sharjah, then on to Singapore and Malaysia as an army wife. I kept journals of my time in the Middle East and my first novel, Falls The Shadow, (now out of print) was published by a small independent publisher. Eventually, tired of an itinerant life, I moved to Cornwall and put down roots. Having secured an agent, my next two novels Listening to Voices and The Sleep of Birds were published by Headline. Sea Music was published by Harper Collins to critical acclaim, followed by Another Life, The Hour Before Dawn and Come Away With Me. At the end of 2009 I took the decision to take time off to travel. I visited Oman, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and lived for a year in Karachi, Pakistan. The result is a new book, set in Pakistan.
