Geraldine Glover, a young woman from the impoverished East End of London at the end of the Great War, is very close to Alan Presley, who is about to divorce his wife. Then she is swept off her feet by Tony Hanford, craftsman and proprietor of a small jeweller's shop, and they are married. She enjoys being able to buy herself smart dresses and help her family out with a little money every now and then, much as the latter resent her charity. But the shop isn't making enough money to sustain them in their comfortable lifestyle, especially as he makes all the goods by hand himself. She becomes especially worried after she accidentally meets a dubious stranger who has come to see Tony with the odd bit of precious metal to sell.
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Though she becomes pregnant, it ends in a stillbirth and their marriage is clearly in trouble, especially after a cruise to Egypt on which she is taken ill and leaves Tony free to find consolation in with others. But she can't return to her family. Yet at least her sister-in-law Fenella knows her brother's faults and treats her as a dearly-loved relative, in stark contrast to their parents, and the understanding, ever-supportive Alan is always there for her.
The review of this Book prepared by John Van der Kiste
