Coming of Age

When her mother is killed in a horse-riding accident, nine-year-old Amy is mute and traumatised. She cannot remember what happened, and she is haunted by a nightmare she cannot explain. She becomes obsessed by her father, clinging to their relationship for dear life.Six years later, confident that she has passed her school exams with flying colours, and basking in her father's love, Amy is horrified to discover there is a new woman in his life. Hannah is not only young and attractive but she is a qualified doctor who also threatens to become Amy's step-mother.Reeling from the blow, Amy makes the chance discovery of a postcard written to her mother before her untimely death. Realising with a shock that her older brother will not help her to reveal the truth behind it, Amy abandons a potential love affair to follow the clues the postcard has given her. Mustering all her determination and courage, she travels on her own to Italy, to find a man she has never met before - and never will again.Was he her mother's killer - or her lover? The threads of everything that has happened lead inexorably back to the present. As she gradually remembers those horrific moments she thought forever buried, Amy is forced to come to terms with the past. Finally - and in more ways than one - a reluctant maid of honour at her father's wedding, Amy comes of age.