New Beginnings for the Surplus Girls

Manchester, 1923: Jess Mason is determined to make her own way in the world. When she's appointed manager for Holly Lodge, a new home for old soldiers, she must convince the owner that she can run things just as well as any man - if not better. To everyone around him, Tom Watson seems a cheerful and sociable man, but he has secretly vowed to go through life alone. However, when he takes on the renovation of Holly Lodge and meets Jess, the walls he has built around himself start to crumble. As the opening of the new soldiers' home proves to be less than straightforward, Jess must fight tooth and nail to hold on to her precious new role. And with her affections for Tom growing stronger by each day, she can't help but wonder if there is room in her life for both love and the career she's always dreamt of.

Polly Heron has worked as a librarian specialising in work with schools and children, an infant teacher, a carer and a cook. She lives in Llandudno in North Wales with her husband and two rescue cats, but her writing is inspired by her Mancunian roots. She enjoys reading, gardening, needlework and cooking and she loves living by the sea.