Passage Oak

High above the coast of Cornwall a remarkable tree dominates the woodland. It stands out so distinctly that, down the ages, it has served as a landmark for thieves and smugglers, lovers and outlaws.

In the small village below, people have a rather obsessive dread of anything that stands out, that doesn't fit the mold. They like to keep to themselves and don't like to see their traditions threatened.

But the world is in turmoil at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Revolutions and religious persecution rage across Europe. Taking advantage of the chaos, a stranger running from a charge of murder manages to start a new life in Cornwall. He makes a profitable business smuggling people out of France during the Reign of Terror, then uses them for his own nefarious purposes. A Frenchwoman and her young charge are just two of his victims. A handsome Italian, and then an Irishman arrive, both choosing exile in order to survive. And an everyday error sends a girl of mixed race by mistake from a London orphanage.

Imagine this motley assortment of people seeking to build new lives in one hard-pressed fishing village.