ISLAND OF WINGS

Lizzie is bright, cheerful and almost ethereal in her beauty, without having any knowledge of it herself. When she married Neil, a minister for the Church of Scotland, it was because of his looks, spirit and intent to do good. He wanted to take the most difficult job he could find. Setting out for St Kilda with a man she barely knew, pregnant with his child, she had no way of knowing if she was heading for adventure or disaster. For Neil, the move is about atoning for the sins of his past, testing and strengthening his own faith as he encourages others. His love and admiration for Lizzie are constantly challenging him - is he blessed with her love or is she a temptress taking his concentration from his faith? As they adjust to married life in one of the hardiest places on the planet, where four out of five babies die in the first eight days of their lives, people live in squalid huts and Lizzie can only speak to Neil, their marriage is put under new strain when Lizzie loses her baby. This is a beautiful, rich and incredibly moving account of a marriage, of two people struggling in the most inhospitable of locations to improve the world of those around them, but most of all, simply to survive and raise their family."