In 1855 Rosa Barr, a headstrong young woman, travels to the Crimea against the wishes of her family, determined to work as a nurse and disappears.



Three people have been intimately connected with her. Her brother, a soldier and adventurer; a doctor, traumatised by the war and harbouring a secret passion and Mariella, her cousin and childhood friend, who must now uncover the truth about what has happened to the missing nurse.



Mariella's epic journey takes her from the domestic quiet of London to the foothills of Italy and on to the ravaged Russian landscape of the Crimea, where she must discover what has happened to her captivating and mysterious cousin and uncover the secrets of those who loved her.