This is a lovely story with twists and turns on every page that keep you guessing, without going to extremes. The heroine, Madeleine, has been disposed of by being thrown into a series of lunatic asylums in Cornwall, in steadily worsening circumstances. Out of the blue a man turns up to liberate her, with false papers and bribes. She finds that all that she has believed in, her husband, family, wealth, were all false, or twisted. The period is around 1790 / 1800 when the French Revolution and the reign of terror provides the threatening background to spies and subterfuge, muddying the plot even more. Nicola Price has done her homework well, the character of the Cornish people and the countryside, the flowers and the industry at that time in history are so well and accurately portrayed. Madeleine finds that her marriage was not valid, her "husband" murdered, and a romantic handsome Frenchman turns her heart, as does a waif whom she befriends, so much intrigue and a happy ending. A really great book with a great cover too!