The Far Morning — Margaret Pemberton

Original title: Harlot

Born to a book-reading, seafaring skipper and a tempestuously beautiful Spanish mother, Christine's young life revolves around her widowed father and his ship, the Lucky Star. The image of her mother, Christina grows from a child to a woman In the blink of an eye, it seems to her besotted father. But before he can make plans for her future, a tragic accident leaves his innocent daughter unprotected and vulnerable in the harsh world of the Liverpool docks. Christina is left in the charge of her uncle who exploits and abuses her. It isn't until Christine is rescued by Captain Devlin O'Connor that she finally escapes from her uncle's clutches, and she loses her heart as quickly as he loses his. His plans to found a new shipping line take him back to America, but Christina waits faithfully for him until the day a message comes that he has got his first ship - and acquired a wife in the bargain. Heartbroken, Christina returns to her old life, but is it really Devlin who has betrayed her, or are there other people who would be happy to see them separated for good?