Product Description Abel Lackland has risen from squalid beginnings to become one of the wealthiest surgeons in town. He wants his eldest son, Jonah, to follow in his footsteps, but Jonah decides that the future lies in the world of the arts. Jonah steals away one night to visit the forbidden Haymarket theatre and manages to meet the famous Lilith Lucas. He falls under her spell - a fatal spell that, unknown to him, has haunted Abel for many years. Lilith is aware of Jonah's identity and sees a chance to repay Abel Lackland for the indignity and heartbreak of the past... About the Author Claire Rayner, nurse, agony aunt and author was born in London in 1931. She married in 1957 and it was while her children were young that she began to write. She is also a tireless campaigner on many medical and social issues, including the long term care of the elderly. Her literary output comprises over eighty books including fiction and a broad range of medical matters. She now lives in Harrow with her husband.

The early 1800's. Jesse Constam, a highly respected spice merchant, lives in fashionable Gower Street. Saved from poverty himself, he rescues two children from the gutter. Jesse's intervention changes their lives forever. The fate of Abel Lackland and Lilith Lucas and their families become inextricably entwined as they are destined for the vastly different worlds of medicine and the theatre.