Lovers separated by the Iron Curtain
Two women whose paths should never have crossed
A remarkable journey that changes all of their lives
Maria's history is a lie. Washed up on the shores of Sweden in 1944 with no memory, she was forced to create her own. Half a century later she still has no idea of her true identity.
Jaak fights for Estonia's independence, refusing to accept the death of his fiancee, Maarja, whose ship was sunk as she fled across the Baltic Sea to escape the Soviet invasion.
Angie knows exactly who she is. A drug addict. A waste of space. Life is just about getting by.
A chance meeting in Edinburgh's Cancer Centre is the catalyst for something very different.
Sometimes all you need is someone who listens.


The Unravelling of Maria (96 000 words) is literary fiction told through three voices, Jaak an Estonian Forest Brother, captured by the Soviets and sent to a gulag in Kolyma; Maarja, his fiancee who fled in 1944 as the Soviets were about to invade, and Angie, a young Scottish drug addict. In Edinburgh, 1987, Maarja and Angie meet in the Cancer Centre and the unravelling begins.