''You be a cheat and a liar Katy Hawley, no wonder your folks d''aint want you! Well we don''t want you neither, do we girls?''

It was only a playground spat but the cruel words burned like acid into Katrin Hawley''s brain. Revenge is a dish best eaten cold and Katrin waited until she could hit her persecutors where it hurt. However, in her pursuit of vengeance, Katrin takes a fatal step too far. Meg Hutchinson''s new novel chronicles the ruthlessly destructive quest of one damaged woman at a time when the onslaught of German bombs was daily robbing families of their loved ones. Just as the stalwart men and women of the Black Country were pulling together for victory, one obsessive woman sought only to satisfy her own malignant, vindictive craving for retribution.