It is 1926 and the First World War is gradually receding into the past. Tom Sherbourne is a young
lighthouse keeper on a remote island off Western Australia. The only inhabitants of Janus Rock, he and his wife Isabel live a quiet life, cocooned from the rest of the world. The only, but
huge, missing element in their lives is children. Isabel has had three miscarriages. One April morning a boat washes ashore carrying a dead man and a crying infant – and the path of the couple’s lives hits the kind of crossroads one finds in Greek tragedy. Only years later do they discover the devastating consequences of the decision they make that day – as the baby’s real story
unfolds. This novel presents a whole crop of moral questions wrapped up in fiction. You can find issues about guilt, grief, sacrifice, love, marriage, parenthood, loss, time, change, duty, and truth. The full sense of human fragility is carried over in this tale reminiscent of Hardy. It is a beautiful and emotional read. Similar to Hardy it also creates a highly detailed and evocative sense of
time and place. Allow M.L. Stedman to take you there. ISBN 978-0552778473