Set against a Tyneside background, this novel features an illegitimate girl who made a rich and powerful impression on all the men and women around her, forging an empire for herself amidst the coalmines and shipyards, founding a dynasty in defiance of social conventions.

          This well-crafted novel by a master storyteller weaves the spellbinding tale of beautiful Katie Mulholland, who began life as the daughter of a miner. The life of a miner in class conscious, mid-nineteenth century England was fraught with poverty, and Katie was forced to go into service at a tender age in order to help her family. Her story begins in 1860 when, aged fifteen, she finds a job in a manor house, as a scullery maid for the Rosier family, who are members of the local gentry and owners of the mine for which her father works.