The Maxwell Family Quartet – 01 – An Orphan of Scotland

*Previously published as* *The Laird of Lochandee.* **
A heartwarming and moving story about secrets, family and the power of love, set in enchanting Scotland during the Second World War.
Scotland, 1940s.
Sixteen-year-old Rachel O’Brian is heartbroken and alone. The unexpected death of her beloved father turns her world upside down. She gratefully accepts a home with the Maxwell family, old friends of her father, though she barely knows them.
But she is woefully unprepared for the matriarch, Gertrude’s malice; no one understands it.
Life is hard for Rachel, toiling on the Maxwell farm under the hateful eye of Gertrude. But the younger Maxwells welcome Rachel with open arms, especially Ross. Slowly, the two fall in love and Rachel once again tentatively allows herself to dream of a future.
But tragedy strikes once more when Ross suddenly disappears during a business trip away. Could the war have claimed another victim? Or is this the work of a sinister force closer to home?
Without his protection, Gertrude seizes the chance to throw Rachel out. Destitute and heartbroken once more, Rachel must gather her strength and courage to find Ross — both for herself, and her unborn child . . .
Set against the looming shadow of the Second World War, this is a sweeping, beautiful story of one woman’s courage against all the odds.