Showing results by author "Kirsty Dougal" in All Categories

Richmond, 1940. As the Battle of Britain rages on, at the Poppy Factory Estate disabled WWI veterans prepare for a secret wartime project while making remembrance poppies. Meanwhile, three of their daughters are coming of age. Carrie wants nothing to do with war and just wants to go to university. Sarah, the daughter of a WWI war hero, desperately wants to prove her own worth, while Mabel likes to keep herself to herself. But one thing’s for certain; these determined women are a lot more than just 'the Poppy Girls'.

As the Great War rages across Europe, twenty-one-year-old Ruby Archer decides to ‘do her bit’ at an East End munitions factory. The work is relentless and deafening, but the camaraderie of the other girls carries her through. As the threat of another Zeppelin attack grows by the day, Ruby cannot ignore the abandoned animals scavenging the local streets. She rescues a stray kitten, Tess, and takes in an injured terrier Mac, but when all the local cats mysteriously disappear, she knows she needs to do more, and with the help of her friends plans to open a weekly animal clinic.

East London, 1916: The Sanctuary Lane Animal Hospital is proving a huge success. For its founder Ruby Archer, this is a dream come true – and her blossoming romance with a local boy is the icing on the cake. But in wartime things change in the blink of an eye. When a heartbreaking tragedy shatters Ruby’s world, suddenly she is at odds with everyone - her family, her friends, and even her sweetheart. And when the hospital is threatened with immediate closure, she’s not sure who to trust.