Porthaven survived its secrets. Now it must survive the war.
The village that hid a treasure beneath its cobblestones now faces threats that cannot be locked in a vault. The war has come closer. The skies over Cornwall carry unwelcome visitors. And the harbour that has sheltered Porthaven for centuries may not be enough to protect it from what is coming.
A group of frightened evacuee children arrive with nothing but the clothes on their backs and every reason to distrust the adults who promise them safety. Traumatised by the Blitz and torn from everything they know, they must learn to trust a village full of strangers who speak differently, live differently, and have secrets of their own. A young woman appears in Porthaven, and the gossip about her relationship with the Major spreads faster than the tide. Old alliances are tested. New bonds are forged in the blackout dark. The Reverend quotes Shakespeare at anyone who stands still long enough. The Wickham sisters keep watch from their window. Percy finds himself in the thick of things, whether he likes it or not.
And then there is Billy the Kidd, the goat who has made himself lord of the harbour, whose courtship methods leave a great deal to be desired but whose heart, it turns out, is in the right place.
Through it all, the villagers do what they have always done. They argue. They forgive. They pull together when it matters. They look after their own.
The Mermaid's Purse: A Winter's Tale is the second book in the Mermaid's Purse series by Richard Cave. Set in a fictional Cornish fishing village during the Second World War, it is a warm, gripping, and often funny ensemble drama about community, courage, and the small acts of kindness that hold people together when the world is falling apart.
