A "remarkable novel of family and love during a time of war,"* Jenny
Ashcroft's Under the Golden Sun follows a soul-searching young woman
who takes a leap of faith and discovers a place to call home and someone
to share her heart.
England, 1941. The world is at war. London is under siege as the German
blitz pounds the city without warning, without mercy. Rose Hamilton did
her part as a member of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force until she was
unfairly discharged following a tragic loss. Working as a secretary on a
Devon farmland, Rose is out of harm's way, but she needs to contribute
to something greater than herself to truly recover.
Answering a newspaper advertisement for a companion to accompany an
orphaned child to Australia, Rose becomes enchanted with four-year-old
Walter Lucknow. Shy, imaginative, and kind, the boy lost his parents and
has been living in near seclusion with his elder great aunt. As heir to
a wealthy Australian cattle station, Walter must return to his homeland
and his mother's family.
Leaving her own family--and fiancé--Rose braves the long, dangerous
voyage across Pacific waters where war is imminent to see Walter safely
home. But upon arrival, Rose learns the truth about Walter's
relationship to the Lucknows and the land he's supposed to inherit, a
truth that haunts the boy's Uncle Max, a wounded pilot scarred inside
and out. And as Max opens his heart up to Walter, Rose is drawn to the
man's strength and compassion, finding herself torn between returning to
England and staying with the child and man she's grown to love.
*New York Times bestselling author Karen White