A saga spanning 40 years of life in the Lancashire cotton mills. This book tells of the lives and loves of two families from different backgrounds. The unhappy Swainbanks, cushioned by wealth but tortured by emotional conflict come to need the Maguires, especially Ma Maguire, more and more.

          From the very first meeting of Philly Maguire and Richard Swainbank, a pattern of overpowering love, conflist, hatred, and secrecy was born. For although Philly and Richard were on opposing 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, real people who both owned them, and worked in them – and of the dangerous things that love can do to families throughout the generations.