In a village in Wiltshire, just off a busy road, Larch Tree Lane winds slowly up a low hill. Among the residents is Maggie Hatherall, full of life despite her advancing years, who worries what she is going to do with her 200-year-old home. Lucia Grey has escaped a bad marriage but her ex is reluctant to let her start a new life free of him. And for architect Corin Drayton, an unexpected inheritance is the start of a complicated family wrangle. From the cottages and farms to the local shop, pub and old manor house, the residents' lives are set to intertwine and relationships bloom.

When Emily Mattison falls victim to a near-fatal accident shortly after receiving an unexpected inheritance from a distant cousin, her ruthless nephew George seizes the opportunity to take control of his aunt's assets. It's only when Emily reaches The Drover's Hope, the former pub on the edge of the Lancashire moors bequeathed to her by her late cousin Penelope, that she begins to feel safe. She also discovers that love can be found in the most unexpected places. But it's not so easy to escape the clutches of someone as determined as George.

Molly Peel feels trapped by her family: her ex-husband Craig cannot seem to abandon his controlling ways despite abandoning her for a younger woman, her lazy son Brian has long been taking advantage of her generosity, and her selfish daughter Rachel is embarrassed by her. When she is blamed for ruining Rachel’s wedding in circumstances beyond her control, Molly decides enough is enough and makes a clean break to Wiltshire to begin a new life. However, the persistent interference of her ex presents difficulties. Can Molly find the courage to stand up for herself and finally move on?

When a new feature on Pete Newbury’s popular TV programme shows his adult image digitally transformed to that of a young child, Beth is shocked to realise that he’s her baby brother, who disappeared without a trace thirty-eight years ago. He vanished at the age of three and her family has grieved for him ever since, believing him to be dead. But the path to reunion and happiness is fraught with complications, not least Beth’s feelings towards a close friend of her long-lost brother and then the reappearance of her runaway daughter, complete with child.

Clinging tightly to the penny in her palm, Flora’s fortune was about to change… Flora is forever grateful for the day the Stewart family rescued her from her life of poverty on London’s streets. Adopted as one of their own, she shed her rags and was finally given a place to call home. When a twist of fate calls her back to the cobbles, Flora’s new life is torn apart. Flora must make her own way if she is ever to find where she truly belongs…

When novelist Sophie Carr rescues a man from a group of paparazzi, she finds that her new neighbour is ageing pop star Jez Winter. She has loved his music for years and knows he has had a tough time lately, with a violent intruder and then a car accident putting his ability to play music at risk. Life’s not been easy for Sophie either, losing her husband just as she was taking off as a novelist and having her hands full with her children. While Jez and Sophie’s families continue to complicate their lives, Sophie also has a secret to hide.

Lancashire, 1895. When her controlling stepfather suddenly dies, it seems that Elinor Pendleton finally has a chance of freedom. But her hopes are soon dashed when she learns that the thuggish Jason Stafford has inherited every penny, and is determined to have Elinor too. Forced to flee with her maid, Maude, Elinor finds shelter with Maude's distant cousin in the remote village on the shore of Jubilee Lake. But Walter Crossley has troubles of his own. Having lost his closest family in a tragic accident, he needs one of his grandsons to return from America to inherit his farm.

Rosalind and her husband, Paul, move from Australia to England due to his job with a multinational company. But Paul is called away to deal with a crisis in Hong Kong, and Rosalind is left to settle in a new country on her own. One by one her three grown children need help, and there is only Rosalind available, because as usual Paul puts his job first. When she finds out that her husband has been unfaithful for years, it appears to be the final blow to their marriage, especially as she has met another man. 

Childless Maeve Corrigan, though rich and successful, is dying of cancer. She wants to leave her business empire to one of the offspring of her two estranged brothers, Des and Leo. But which young relative should she choose? Des has four children, and he is overstretched financially. Leo is the unambitious owner of a hardware store in a remote Australian town and has two children.

Abandoned by their parents and left to fight for themselves, headstrong Rosalind Carey has no choice but to take charge of her younger brothers and sister in Devonshire’s grand Rockwood Castle. But their once much-loved home is crumbling like the family that lives within it. Living hand to mouth and desperate to provide for the estate that depends on them, the Carey family are one debt away from ruin. Until the day comes when the dashing Piers Blanchard appears on their doorstep from Cornwall, claiming he is Rosalind’s distant cousin and that Rockwood Castle is his.

When Mara Gregory receives a letter from the father whom she believed to have died when she was a child, her world is turned upside down. Aaron Buchanan only discovered that he had a daughter a couple of years ago and now he's desperate to play a part in her life. In the face of her mother's opposition, Mara arranges to meet her father and his family. In a breath-taking corner of the world, amid a waterfront community on Australia's west coast, will Mara find him the disappointment that her mother promises?

Janey is 18 and living in a small flat with her baby daughter. Just as her new life starts to show promise, her past catches up with her. Nicole is renting one of the new luxury flats. She’s just walked away from her husband and teenage sons, tired of being treated as a servant, suspecting her husband of having an affair. Winifred has lived in her large family home for over 80 years but it’s all getting too much, though she doesn’t want to leave. Things are not what they seem, and danger can strike both rich and poor.

Wiltshire in 1901: Kathleen's family are determined to force her into marriage with a violent man. In desperation she runs away and finds what consolation she can for her lost dreams. Then tragedy strikes, and Kathleen seeks refuge at Honeyfield House, where a charitable bequest has created a hiding place for families in trouble. Nathan fought in the Great War and is now using his gift for finding lost people as a detective. Taking on the job of finding Kathleen, he is shocked to discover a woman he can love, not the vicious female he was led to expect.

Random House presents the audiobook edition of A Shilling for a Wife by Emma Hornby, read by Penelope Freeman. A dismal cottage in the heart of Bolton, Lancashire, has been Sally's prison since Joseph Goden 'bought' her from the workhouse as his wife. A drunkard and bully, Joseph rules her with a rod of iron, using fists and threats to keep her in check. When Sally gives birth, however, she knows she must do anything to save her child from her husband's clutches.

The first book in Anna Jacobs' wonderful Backshaw Moss series. 1935. At 36, Bella Porter is dependent on her abusive cousin, acting as an unpaid servant. When a kind relative leaves her a house in the village of Backshaw Moss, Thomas tries to take it from her, but she defies him and grasps this chance of a new start in Lancashire. It is not going to be easy, though.