SECRETS, LIES AND A MIND-BLOWING REVELATION. Emma grew up believing that her grandmother was dead. 1915 - Eliza's mother, Alice, dies before she can tell her how to solve the coded letters, hidden in a secret compartment in her bureau. The letters which will tell Eliza 'the truth'. 2004 - Eliza, in a nursing home in Southport, tells her solicitor that she has a granddaughter called Emma and needs her help with locating the coded letters. Emma, anxious to leave Malta and return to England, receives a puzzling letter from Eliza's solicitor, asking her to return to Southport, the town where she lived as a child. Why did Emma's parents tell her Eliza was dead? What secret is hidden in the coded sheets? 'An Absence of Birdsong' is a story about the importance of love, family and forgiveness. And also about moving on.