Read by Greg Wagland

1921, Ireland. Mary Kate Shevlin was never going to make a good life for herself in Ballymara. As an eight-year-old girl, she was cursed by the local gypsy woman who wanted to ruin the Shevlin family business. As a young woman, Mary Kate falls pregnant out of wedlock by a much older man, publican and moneylender Michael Donnelly. His domineering and vindictive nature cause Mary Kate to flee with her unborn child to Liverpool. Met with prejudice and suspicion, Mary Kate is forced to work in a brothel to keep her poverty at bay. She eventually finds love in the arms of a handsome client who shares her dream of a new, prosperous beginning. But the man and the curse she left behind in Ballymara refuse to let her go. In a time of conflicting emotions and social divide, Mary Kate tried to live a good life - but one man threatens to undo it all

Mode of access: World Wide Web