An utterly heartbreaking and gripping family saga.

Manchester, 1960.
When you’re young, unmarried and pregnant, in a shaming society that will never understand, there’s only one place left to go. St Ann’s mother and baby home. That’s how restless Joan, who dreams of a glamorous new life in the Big Smoke, finds herself shut away with two unlikely new roommates: spirited Megan and timid country-girl Caroline, who fell pregnant on her first time. Abandoned by their families, they have no one to rely on but each other, as they wait out the days before they birth their babies — only to be parted from them forever. On a sultry May night, before the stroke of midnight, three baby girls are born — and given away to three eagerly waiting families. But for Joan, Megan and Caroline, birth is just the beginning. Try as they might to move on with life beyond the convent walls, their mistakes have a way of catching up with them.
When the past comes knocking, the three women are forced to confront the choices they made. Will they ever be reunited with their lost daughters?

Previously published as TRIO.

Reviews

‘Staincliffe turns part Marge Piercy, part Rosamunde Pilcher … a captivating story filled with tears, tragedy, humour, and happiness’ Booklist

‘Poignant and true to life. I couldn’t put it down; I really wanted to know what happened to the characters’ Maureen Crank MBE, Chief Executive and founder member of After Adoption