The round tower

Vanessa Ratcliffe is only sixteen. Though she was educated by nuns, her bold, attention-seeking manner stirs envy among the town's girls. She belongs to a grand household on Brampton Hill, where her family's wealth and ruthless ambition have made them the most prominent people in the district.

Angus Cotton comes from the other end of the social scale, living on Ryder's Row among the goods yards and grimy streets. As an engineer at Affleck and Tate he is indispensable, a fact Vanessa's father, the works manager, knows and resents admitting. Angus has his own ambitious plans for the future, and Vanessa has no part in them, yet a series of events is about to throw the two of them together.