Jimmy Bailor is put ashore and left by his father and the crew of the Annie May in an attempt to make a man out of him. Jimmy’s father is cruel and irrational, and Jimmy can’t believe what has happened. After several days without being rescued, Jimmy sets off to find home, though he has no survival skills and is certain he will die.

He comes upon Juniper Tickle and is nursed back to health by Flory White and her pregnant sister-in-law, Lizzy. The two women and Lizzy’s son are living alone after the White menfolk have all been arrested for the murder of Jimmy’s father. The Annie May has washed up on the beach in Juniper Tickle with nobody aboard—or so the Whites say. The law sees things differently.

As the trio and the little boy settle into life in Juniper Tickle, Jimmy’s inadequacies are compounded by a difficult birth for Lizzy, food scarcity, and the lingering notion of whether the men will return in the spring.

As Jimmy takes on more responsibility, he struggles with the plight of his father and his own deception of the women, who don’t know he is the son of the murder victim who is the reason they are alone.

When spring comes and the men return, Jimmy is found out and turned in by the Whites. Flory, who struggles with her own budding feelings toward Jimmy, is devastated by his deception.

Long believed lost at sea or murdered, Jimmy’s return to Spigot Harbour is welcomed by all but one. Somebody is intent on seeing that Jimmy stays dead.
After living in Juniper Tickle with the Whites, Jimmy sees himself and everyone around him in a new light. He blames himself for the rift between him and his father and for how he contributed to his father’s death. Most of all, he hates that he’s hurt Flory. As the killer closes in, and truths come to light, Jimmy fears for Flory’s safety.

Flory learns that Jimmy is critically injured and may be dying. She is torn by her feelings as her sister-in-law, Lizzy, reveals a secret.

Both Jimmy and Flory’s worlds come tumbling down around them. Can they realign their own truths and confront their feelings for each other, or have circumstances that brought them together be the same ones that keep them apart?

First and foremost, Ida Linehan Young is a grandmother to the most precious little boys, Parker and Samuel, a mother to three adult children, Sharon, Stacey, and Shawna, and a wife to Thomas. In her busy daily life, Ida works in the information technology sector of the federal government of Canada, and she volunteers her time in the community of Conception Bay South with the Kiwanis Club of Kelligrews.
Ida had a fascination with writing in her high school days, when she dabbled in poetry and essays. In 2012, she became serious about her writing with a story to tell, and that led to her memoir, No Turning Back: Surviving the Linehan Family Tragedy, in 2014. Having found a passion for writing, and with a love of local history and lore, she published four works of historical fiction: Being Mary Ro (2018), The Promise (2019), The Liars (2020), and The Stolen Ones (2021). In June 2021, the first three novels were issued the Silver Medal for Best Series? Fiction by the Independent Publisher Book Awards. The fourth novel in the series, The Stolen Ones, won the NL Reads 2022 competition and the Margaret Duley Award.
With strong influences from the familial art of storytelling passed down by her father, Ed Linehan, and her maternal grandfather, Frank Power, Ida writes stories about her beloved province, Newfoundland and Labrador. She enjoys researching events of the late nineteenth century and weaving fictional characters through historical tales that complement that cultural richness, renewing interest in the province's storied past.
Follow Ida on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram: @idalinehanyoung Or on her website: www.idalinehanyoung.ca

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