False Heart

In 1914, as war approaches, a young accountant arrives in the village of Stainwick to prepare the local black powder works for conflict. He marries a widowed schoolteacher despite her doubts. When he returns from the trenches with dangerous secrets, explosions shatter more than Stainwick’s peace. 1914. As war looms over Europe, the quiet village of Stainwick prepares for change. Acland’s Black Powder Works must expand to meet the demands of conflict, and young accountant David Ainsworth is sent to oversee the transformation. He meets Sarah Liddell, a widowed schoolteacher and mother, whose life is already shaped by loss. Before he is deployed to serve in the Army, David persuades Sarah to marry him, despite her reservations. When David returns from the trenches four years later, mentally scarred by war, he and Sarah try to salvage their marriage. But when a lightning strike on the powder works triggers a series of explosions and her husband’s secrets are revealed, Sarah’s life is turned upside down. False Heart is a story of love, deception, and the courage it takes to rebuild after everything has been torn apart.