Copyright

      Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

       www.harpercollins.co.uk

      Copyright © Freya North 2009

      Freya North asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

      This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

      Source ISBN: 9780007245949

       Ebook Edition © 2009 ISBN: 9780007325801

       Version: 2017-11-27

       Dedication

       For Jessica Adams, Sarah Henderson, Kirsty Johnson – and Jo Smith –

       for your unconditional and bountiful support, love and laughter. thank you xxx

       Epigraph

      I could not get tae my love if Aa wad dee The waters of Tyne cem betwixt her and me Sae thor Aa wad stand wiv a tear in my ee Till the Smoggies¹ cem and built a bridge Ower them for me

      (regional version,

      ‘Waters of the Tyne’, trad.)

¹ Geordie moniker for Middlesbrough folk