In a small seaside village in Wales everyone has secrets, but how long can they be kept?After tragedy strikes and Bettrys Hopkyns loses her sister, she is determined to raise Eirlys's daughter Cheryl. She is also duty-bound to uncover the identity of her late sister's lover, so the baby can know her father.The search takes Bettrys and her young niece to a close-knit village in west Wales; where they find a community seething with love affairs, disloyalty and deceit. With trust in short supply, and her own heartbreak to contend with, it soon becomes clear some find their presence most unwelcome. But what lengths will they go to, and why?

Ruth has looked after her brothers for ten years since the death of their parents and believes that her role as head of the family will continue for the rest of her life. With two of her brothers already married and living away she has only her youngest brothers to care for. The arrival of a new, very determined sister-in-law makes change inevitable and Ruth struggles to maintain her superior role. Troubled by problems in her own relationship with the ever-patient Henry, she must recognize her priorities in time to salvage her own chance of love and happiness. Nothing is Forever is a finely drawn portrait of the joys and challenges of close-knit family life, from the much-loved writer of Gull Island and Facing the World.

The year is 1917, and Barbara Jones is shocked to be told that she is carrying a child. Her boyfriend is a soldier and there is no one to whom she can turn for support. Indeed, her horrified father sends her away in disgrace when he learns of her condition. Fortunately, the generous Carey family give Barbara a home in a derelict house on a beach near Gull Island and it is there that her daughter Rosita is born. "Gull Island" traces the lives of Barbara, Rosita and the Carey family over many years - through wars, hurt, hope and betrayal. When Rosita grows up, she must cope with more than her share of deceit and disappointment - but when she faces danger on Gull Island, those around her find that they are stronger than they ever imagined.

Zena Martin and her brother, Greg, are content with their lives and plans for their future: Zena and Jake Williams are about to announce their engagement, and Greg hopes to persuade Rose Conelly to meet his family and begin the next stage of their relationship. Then their father dies suddenly and secrets come to light that change everything. Zena begins to doubt her happiness with the kind-hearted Jake when his generosity is more for others than for her. Greg is distressed when Rose leaves the town without any explanation. But it is their mother's secret that is hardest to understand. And when everything is revealed and explanations are offered, what will be left of their once optimistic future?

Sally Travis appeared to have been badly let down by Rhys Martin, who had gone away when under suspicion of burglary. Sally knew he was at college and secretly supported him. She had faced the gossips alone when their baby was born, and ignored the worrying rumours about him. Rhy's father, Gwilym Martin, had lost a leg in an accident but whereas Sally held her head high under difficulties, Gwilym, who had been a popular sportsman and athlete, hid away, unable to face being seen in a wheelchair. He refused to work with young people and encourage them in their chosen sport. Sally ignored unkind remarks and helped others, especially Jimmy, a young boy put in danger by his parents neglect during their marital difficulties. But doubts about Rhys began to grow. When Rhys finally returned, would she still be waiting? Or had too much happened for things to be the same?

In a small seaside town popular with summer visitors, Cecily and Ada run their father's grocery shop. Since their mother left them, they have lived above the shop with Myfanwy, a six-year-old they adopted when her parents died. The business is successful with the assistance of friends and Willie, their hardworking stable boy and their deliveries extend to the stalls and cafes on the beach, where one stall handler, Peter, becomes a close friend. Love for the sisters brings only heartache. Cecily's wedding is cancelled and a secret revealed changes her life forever. Ada is happily married to Phil until disappointment touches her too. Is the growing business the only part of their life to offer them happiness?

Cecily and Ada Owen's shop is very successful. Their reliable deliveries and service is valued by cafes, tea stalls and shops on the Pleasure Beach during the summer months. However, things turn sour when Ada's husband, Phil Spencer, comes out of prison a very strange and dangerous man. And Myfanwy, Cecily's daughter, denied for too long is planning a cruel revenge. Unaware, Cecily and Ada hand over most of their business to Myfanwy during the difficult years of World War II. Is it too late for the Owens sisters to survive or can they celebrate the end of the war with hope in their hearts?

Faith Pryor has always run away when things become difficult, whether it be from care homes or foster parents. She always lived in the hope she would find the family she had lost during the chaos of war. Then she ran away from Matt, the man she had promised to marry, but leaving Matt wasn't hard once she had learned of his dark secret. A family of her own was her greatest wish, but something she would never find. Now, after meeting Ian in a chance encounter on a train, running was the last thing she wanted to do. But what about her own dark secret?Finally she is forced to face her demons for running away was no longer possible. Would she be brave enough to take her chance?

Easily roused to anger, Seranne Laurence is furious when her mother announces she is to marry the latest in a long line of unsuitable men-friends. She soon realises that she hasn't the right to interfere in her mother's life, but that means she has to leave the Victoria-style tearooms she and her mother run together. Filled with resentment towards her step-father, she moves to the small, Welsh village of Cwm Derw and the cottage called Badgers Brook.There she finds many new friends including Betty and Alun at the Ship and Compass, Babs and Tony at the bakery and many others. Then there is Luke, who laughs at her misfortunes and whose friendship she accepts. It is he, too, who risks his own life to rescue her.