As tensions grow on the goldfields, and with the blood of an Irish rebel still beating through his heart, Kieran finds himself caught up in the cataclysmic events at the Eureka Stockade and faces the decision of a lifetime: whether or not, when it comes to love, blood will remain thicker than water. But while Liam works to farm their land, Kieran has the fire of gold-fever upon him and is drawn to the goldfields of Ballarat. Then the fiery and charismatic Irishman Kieran Clancy crosses her path.įor Kieran Clancy, the kindest man on earth, and his brother Liam, the promise of free passage and land in this brave new world is a chance to leave the grief and starvation of County Clare behind. But here in this strange new world fortune smiles on the spirited, clever Eve in the shape of a respectable job offer that will lead to a quiet, secure life. Her struggle to survive sees her deported in chains to the colony of New South Wales, penniless and alone. and love, loyalty and trust will fight a battle to the last.From the soft green hills of Ireland to the wild Shipwreck Coast of southern Victoria, the rich farm lands of New South Wales to the sudden battlefields of Ballarat, this is an epic story of the cost of freedom and the value of love in a far-flung corner of the world where a new nation struggles to be born.ġ851: After the death of her father, young Eve Richards is destitute. For Carl and Athena, it becomes a desperate quest for survival. Carl is not the man her traditional parents would have chosen for their daughter, however, and hiding the secret of his German heritage from Athena could further threaten their love.ĭecisions must be made when they find themselves in an intense final stand against the Nazis as the Allied Forces retreat and the Cretan peasants are forced into guerrilla warfare. When Carl arrives in Crete with Allied Forces soldiers evacuated from the Greek mainland, he and Athena are intoxicated by each other.

Now her home is under threat and she is ready to fight to defend it from the hated Nazi invaders, just as her ancestors sought to protect their island home in the past.

But if enlisting is the only way he can save his German-born father, Dr Louis Schmidt, from an internment camp, he will.ġ941: Athena Papandrakis has grown up on the island of Crete, swimming in jewelled waters and exploring ancient ruins. He is training to be a doctor and wants to protect lives, not take them. A heartfelt, sweeping saga of World War II, from the peaceful farmlands of NSW to the Mediterranean's glittering, dangerous shores, for readers of Fiona McIntosh, Nicole Alexander and Natasha Lester.ġ939: Australian-born Carl Smith loves his country and despises fascism, but he never meant to go to war. A young German-Australian soldier meets a passionate Cretan girl and together they are caught up in guerrilla warfare during the brutal Nazi invasion of Crete.

Gallipoli Street by Mary-Anne O'Connor