Loving Enemies

The story opens in Bristol in 1939, on the eve of the Second World War. Mary Anne Randall is a determined, tireless woman who runs a pawnbroking trade from the washhouse behind her terraced house. The money keeps her three children fed, and it also has to cover the needs of her husband, a violent drunk. Mary Anne's composure is tested when Michael Maurice inherits the pawnshop next door, and she bristles at having a new rival so close by.

As war gathers over Europe, the rivalry between the two neighbours starts to give way to something more personal. Old feelings resurface, and Mary Anne begins to suspect that this may be her final chance at real love.