Without her mother she is alone in the world . . . Twelve-year-old Adele is placed in a bleak, cruel children's home after a family tragedy drives her mother to madness. But when trust is betrayed Adele has no choice but to run away . . . Alone and friendless, she heads for Sussex, to seek out the grandmother she has never known. However the journey, without food or shelter, leaves her desperately ill. Surrounded by the beautiful Rye Marshes, Adele is nursed back to health. Can she now dream of a new life? But what will happen when her mother reappears, bearing shocking family secrets?