Carolena Bloom, an orphaned young woman from the lower classes, is dining with Lady Crosswood at Poplar Chimes Park. Carolena is dressed in the finest muslin and her hair, adorned with golden slides, is elaborately pinned up. How did it come to this? She can't believe it herself.A few months earlier, she escapes the miserable life as a maid on the farm of her greedy uncle. On the dangerous journey to a long-awaited but deceptive independence, she meets extraordinary people. She learns about herbal lore and nature's magical forces, which she is eager to use, but struggles to find her place in the world. When she finally believes to have found it, she takes her chance but becomes entangled in a lie that assigns her a very unexpected role.While Lady Crosswood busies herself making plans solely for her entertainment, Carolena dwells on the past. Driven by her goal to take revenge on the one person who destroyed her family, she agrees to play her part in Lady Crosswood's game but secretly hopes to fulfil her self-assigned duty.Book 1 of the Duty & Doubt trilogy is Annes debut novel and tells the origin story of the young heroine Carolena. Join her journey to becoming this intriguing and self-confident Miss that will create quite a stir in British high society.