Description
''The most authentic new voice in crime fiction'' Martina Cole
Wakefield, 1964.
Life is hardly rosy for Annie Wills an unhappy upbringing and then married too young with husband Gary soon proving a lazy coward unable to hold down a job, his fists always ready to vent his anger on the world. The one shining star in Annie''s life is her perfect little girl, Maria.
When Gary foolishly ends up in debt to local crime family, the Waltons, the only way for Annie to keep a roof over their heads is to work at one of the Waltons'' drinking clubs. There, for the sake of Maria, Annie does the unthinkable and keeps men happy, night after night.
Maria grows into a stunning teenager who catches the eye of Fred Walton, volatile son of family boss, Ted. Despite Annie''s desperate efforts to protect Maria from this seedy world, the young couple fall into a relationship and inevitably Maria falls pregnant. Fred is furious at the news, lashing out again and again wit
