Cynthia Turner wasn't always the embittered, cantankerous woman she is today. There was a time when she was utterly in love, looking forward to her future. Until her father called her into the study to meet her intended husband. Someone she had never met before.

Cynthia Turner was head over heels in love with Jonathan Cranford by the end of a sweltering summer. He would be beginning his teaching career in the math department in the Autumn. They had their futures ahead of them. Cynthia's father had forbidden her to get a job, but she'd defied her father's order. She would begin her secretarial job at the dockyard in the Autumn too.

Fiercely independent despite her sheltered upbringing in the mansion on the cliffs, Cynthia wanted to be on equal footing with her husband. He hadn't proposed, but they'd talked about getting married when they'd saved up for a little terraced house. Those plans turned to dust when she stepped into her father's study to see a stranger look her over. Her independence from what followed had severe consequences, from which she never recovered.