Stray Angel

Kay Brellend

1915, Chrisp Street Market, East London.

While the man she loves is in France fighting for his country, Lily Larkin wakes up at dawn to carry crates of apples to his market stall. Left in charge of Greg’s warehouse, she has blossomed from a street urchin into a shrewd tradeswoman. But the market is a man’s world and she soon starts attracting some unwanted visitors, including Greg’s old rival Scully.

Luckily, Lily recruits her old friends, Margie and Fannie, as helping hands. While the work is hard, it is nothing compared to the drudgery they endured as children of the workhouse, and they bear their burdens as cheerfully as their heavy barrows.

But Lily has one trouble she must keep secret: before dying, her mother gave birth to a child who was spirited away under the cover of darkness. Searching every corner of the city to find her long-lost sister, Lily soon discovers there is a world of wickedness within London’s poorest alleys.

Will Lily finally be reunited with her sister, or will her dreams of a family be dashed forever?