An 80-year-old woman and her granddaughter reveal startling truths about their lives to each other that will shake their family to its core.

Deep in the English countryside, Marshwood has always been much more than just a house. It has been a place to escape to and a trap, the backdrop for elegant parties and a wartime hospital, an idyllic escape from trauma and unhappy marriages. When the roof starts to cave in and the money runs out, 80-year-old Bella resists the pressure to sell and instead begins to peel back the layers of the past.

As this imposing house gives up its secrets of marriage, war and forbidden love, patterns begin to repeat themselves when Bella's granddaughter's childhood sweetheart returns from the war in Bosnia. Like so many before him, Jack comes seeking solace. But he also wants Isla, who is – who really should be – unavailable to him.

And as all three characters explore whether you can ever truly go back, the past and the present collide with shattering consequences ...

A romantic saga that explores themes of family secrets, forbidden love and the concept of returning to the past, perfect for fans of Hilary McKay and Liane Moriarty