The Danger of Knowing

It is the summer of 1802. In the West Country of England, fourteen-year-old Annie Brice lives with her parents at the foot of the Quantock Hills.

Annie's mother suffers from a serious illness. Her father makes his living sailing a merchant vessel from the nearby port of Watchet. He is a harsh man, and Annie is thankful he is often away from home.

Sometimes, after yet another week of housework and looking after her mother, Annie plays truant from church to go up into the hills with her paper and pencils. One Sunday, she meets a servant boy from the big house two miles away, and a close friendship develops.

As Annie's fifteenth birthday approaches, a mysterious uncle comes to stay, and an overheard conversation throws her world into chaos.