To have and to hold - Anne Bennett

A stirring saga of a nurse who only wants to do her duty in World War Two - and who ends up having to make an agonising choice. Set in Ireland and Birmingham, this is the latest from emerging star of the genre Anne Bennett.

Carmel Duffy is the eldest child of a brutal and abusive marriage, and she can't wait to leave home. She's equally determined to have no husband or children of her own - what she wants more than anything is to be a nurse. As soon as she turns eighteen, she heads for Birmingham and begins her training.

With her beautiful auburn curls, she draws plenty of attention and her resolve to concentrate on her career is tested when Dr Paul Connolly comes onto her ward and into her life. Gradually he wins her heart, and they agree to marry, both certain that they want no children. They have valuable jobs to do - all the more so when World War Two looms. But those years will change everything: their relationship, their priorities, their very characters. Carmel will find that the future is very different to the one she thought she wanted for so long