History has all but forgotten the spring of 1708, when an invasion fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown. But when bestselling author Carrie McClelland is drawn to the coastal town of Slains and decides to base her new historical novel there, it's an opportunity for the past to come to life. She focuses her story on the inhabitants of Slains Castle and decides to place one of her own ancestors - Sophia Paterson - into this Jacobite stronghold, through whom she can relate events.
Her subsequent discovery that Sophia did indeed live at Slains Castle during the rebellion leads Carrie to realise that this story is not entirely her own and that inspiration is coming to her direct from the past. As Sophia's memories draw Carrie more deeply into the intrigue of 1708, she comes to realise that a hitherto unrealised bond with her ancestor is providing her with a direct window into the true events of the time.
Mesmerising and meticulously researched, The Winter Sea is a haunting tale of two women's experiences of love, political intrigue and personal betrayal in two very different times.