Heather Chapman

Abel Mason is a man caught in a loveless marriage with a harridan wife who constantly berates him and beats their son Dick. When the one woman he loves dies at the hands of her husband after he was sent a letter by Mason's wife, exposing the affair, Abel leaves her for good taking to the road and young Dick with him.

After taking his young son Roddy to a remote Northumberland village, Peter Greenbank meets a violent death, leaving the boy alone with no family to speak of. Roddy is adopted and raised by Kate Makepeace, a good friend of his father’s, and develops a close friendship with Hal and Mary Ellen. But their sibling bond is put to the test as they mature. The hidden secrets of the past are painfully unearthed as their lives are intertwined by a tragic destiny.