The Metal Heart

Orkney 1941. Five hundred Italian prisoner of war arrive to fortify these wild and desolate islands.

Ophaned sisters Dorothy and Constance volunteer to nurse the wounded. But while Constance remains wary of the men, Dot finds herself drawn to Cesare, a man fighting on the wrong side and broken by the horrors of battle. Secretly they fall in love.

When a mistake from Con's past returns to haunt them, Dot must make a choice: protect her sister or save the man who has captured her heart.

About the Author
Caroline Lea grew up on Jersey and gained a First from Warwick University. Her fiction and poetry have been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize, while her debut novel, The Glass Woman, a gothic thriller set during the Icelandic witch trials - was shortlisted for the Historical Writers Association Debut Crown Award. Her next novel, The Metal Heart - a powerful Second World War love story set in Orkney - was selected as a Waterstones Scottish Book of the Month. Prize Women, her latest novel, is inspired by film footage Caroline found, showing the women who took part in the Great Stork Derby. Caroline was immediately struck by the awful implications of a competition which made women compete to have children, and by the fact that such a shocking story had remained buried for so long.