AustLit

'1936: At nineteen, Kitty was ready to leave behind the stifling control of her parents and all those constantly telling her how to live her life. Work at the Wintonvale Repatriation Hospital was her escape and a chance to be someone else.

'Then she met soldier George Turner - and she heard her mother's voice in her ear, warning of danger, of being that girl. Kitty told herself if she ever had her own daughter she'd never control her. She'd make sure her voice never left a mark behind.

'1973: Growing up, Eleanor's home was strained by sorrow and the echoes of war that silenced her parents. And always her mother, Kitty's, bitterness, twisting and poisoning everything she touched. She thought she knew what made her parents this way ... but Eleanor would never know all her mother's secrets.

'The demands of marriage, motherhood and looking after her daughter while her husband, Leon, is in Vietnam lay claim to Eleanor's days. Nature, embracing curiosity and not being like her mother are Eleanor's solace. But they are not enough when Leon's darkness overwhelms. Both he and her mother leave their mark, and use her child for their own ends. Afraid, unsure and alone, Eleanor will be driven to erase her mother's voice in her head. But the question remains: can she bear the burden of her own secrets?' (Publication summary)