A Wicked Woman

A tale of two families linked by one big secret and the lies that must conceal it, but separated by hatred and a deadly rivalry. Bellfont is a prosperous mill town, situated half way between Liverpool, the city that looks out across the Atlantic to America, and Manchester, powerhouse of cotton mills and factories. It is 1860 and the American Civil War is about to cause a crisis in the cotton industry. Two powerful men stand to lose if they play their cards wrong. Thomas Cartwright is thoughtful, enlightened, wanting only the best for the mill workers on whom they all depend. Ernest Roscow is hard, unyielding, driven by greed and anger. Crucially he has dismissed as irrelevant the new iron ships beginning to to ply their trade between Liverpool and America. Between these two men is a deadly rivalry and a lifelong loathing. Unknown to either is a secret known only to an old woman near death. 'You must only marry for love,' she tells her beloved granddaughter, Laura Roscow, as she reveals the legacy that will lead to unforeseen consequences for the family. Later, as the truth dawns on him, Ernest will shout at the daughter he loves and has spoilt all her life, 'You are no daughter of mine. You are a wicked woman.' Powerful as he is - he cannot control the events that are about to unfurl. Meanwhile, across town, clever, ambitious Emma Lovelock is preparing to disobey her father, Thomas Cartwright's foreman and trusted right hand, in order to apply for a job with the enemy - as lady's maid in Roscow House. When the saga opens, two men hold the balance of power, but as the story unfolds, it is two women who will change their world, challenging lies and exposing secrets, with dramatic and uncontrollable consequences.