Book description
From the very first meeting of Philly Maguire and Richard Swainbank,
a pattern of overpowering love, conflict, hatred, and secrecy was
born. For although Philly and Richard were on opposite sides of the
mill floor, they recognised - both of them - that they were equally
matched in strength of character and the capacity for overwhelming
sexual passion.
Thus began the forty years of conflict between the two families -
the Swainbanks, cushioned by wealth but tearing each other to pieces
with the violence of their emotions - and the Maguires, proud,
betrayed, and led by the vibrant and magnificent Philly.
A major saga of the Lancashire cotton mills - of the strong,
violent, real people who both owned them, and worked in them - and of
the dangerous things that love can do to families throughout the generations.
Ruth Hamilton was born in Bolton, which is the setting for many of
her novels, and has spent most of
her life in Lancashire. She now lives in Liverpool.
