Publisher's Synopsis
In 1921, Lieutenant Henry Gilpin is scouring the country seeking out those who, perhaps, did not do their best for king and country in the Great War. Now he has come to the mining town of Crouden, and Jack Aylward's name is on the top of his list. Many of the town's men never returned from the mud of Northern France, and those who survived are tragically altered. Gilpin may exorcise their ghosts, but he brings new terrors with his justice.
Kitty Aylward watches in horror as he tears apart the lives of the men and women she has loved and respected. After a wonderful childhood with her constant companions, Billy and Jack, Kitty had finally married Billy but before he left to fight Billy asked for one strange promise: if he should die, she must marry his closest friend. When her husband was killed kept her oath, but now she slowly realises that Gilpin could hold a terrible secret concerning Jack, and Billy's death.
