The Lark Ascending

When Chris Adam receives a proposal from Guy Lindsay, a wealthy young landowner, her family are astounded and delighted - this would be a fine match indeed for a daughter for a daughter of the Manse. Chris is tempted, for she is powerfully attracted to Guy, but she has a vocation - to be a composer - and she chooses instead to go and study music in Edinburgh.

In her lodgings in the New Town Chris meets Angus Bretton, who has been sent down from medical school in disgrace. Though he seems strangely restrained compared with the passionate Guy, Chris falls deeply in love with him. And it is Angus who comes to her rescue when circumstances conspire against her and she finds her dreams in ruins. They plan a future together, but the shadows of Angus's past have not dispersed. A chance meeting with Guy gives Chris a glimpse of the fulfilling life she might have had - but now that she is committed to Angus, and Guy is married, it seems romantic happiness will elude her.

War in 1914 changes everything. Chris, now, against all the odds, growing in stature as a composer, must like so many women wait at home while the men she cares about take their chances on the battlefields of Europe. Tragedy, betrayal and bitter scandal lie ahead before Chris can fulfill her musical destiny, and stand by the side of the man she loves.