In 1930, Bridget O’Brien, a young widow with two children, fled her brutal and bigoted father and headed for Liverpool and an arranged marriage with a man she had never met.

Her destination, the famous Scotland Road, was noisome and terrifying and a far cry from the clean air and flowing rivers of the only country she had known, Ireland.

When she met her middle-aged bridegroom, Sam Bell, whose twin sons were older than she was, her sense of isolation only increased. Anthony, one of her so-called stepsons, also held out the strong hand of friendship, but Liam, the favourite of his father, had the power to terrify her. Liam was cold, compelling, mysterious and antagonistic. He was also a priest.