Rosa grew up an orphan in a remote, watery island fastness on the wild East Coast of Yorkshire. Taken in as a small child by the motherly Mrs Drew, she realised as she grew up that this large and seemingly close farming family contained many troubled souls. Mr Drew, whose religious fervour held a dark secret; Jim, the eldest son, who was terrified of something from his past; Delia longing to escape from the island; and tall, handsome, confident Matthew, who wanted only one thing Rosa herself. ut Rosa's backround was one of mystery. Her mother before she drowned in the dyke near their home had always promised that one day Rosa's father would return to her a handsome Spaniard, with jewels and silks in treasure chests, sailing in on a ship with golden sails. Mr Drew knew the secret of Rosa's past and so did the two mysterious Irishmen, who came back to the island after many years and who threatened everything which Rosa held most dear.