The Tide Between us

The Tide Between Us transports readers to the year 1821, where a shocking event unfolds in Kerry. After the assassination of the landlord of Lugdale Estate, young Art O'Neill's innocent father is unjustly hanged, leading to Art's deportation to the Jamaican cane fields as an indentured servant.

On Mangrove Plantation, Art gradually acclimatises to the exotic country and the unfamiliar customs of the African slaves. Despite the harsh beginnings, he achieves a measure of contentment. The arrival of new heirs to the plantation from Ireland stirs the ghosts of Art's brutal past. Yet, he carefully conceals his abhorrence from his owners.

During those years of servitude, Art prospers. He witnesses the emancipation of his mixed-race children and takes pride in owning land as his family thrives. Even as he is promised seven gold coins upon completing his service, he remains doubtful of his master’s intentions.

A century later in Ireland, the discovery of a skeleton beneath a fallen tree on Lugdale Estate reveals a gold coin minted in 1870. Yseult, the current owner of the estate, watches the unfolding events with trepidation, fearing the emergence of long-buried truths about her family's past and its ties to the slave trade. As the skeleton divulges its secrets, Yseult realises that she too can no longer hide from the past.