Dangerous Secrets at SUMMER HIGHTOWERS

Dangerous Secrets at SUMMER HIGHTOWERS It is the late seventeen hundreds and the captain of a slave ship snatches a child from a beach close to her village on the Gold Coast of West Africa. She is taken to Jamaica to fulfill an order given by an influential, white plantation owner who demands a new 'living' toy for his disabled daughter. Only weeks later, not able to understand or obey her new masters, she is punished and seriously hurt. Of no more use, she is handed to the black overseer, Jacob and his wife, Janna Hamilton, to take care of the little girl. Ode will eventually die of her injuries. The only thing the child had with her, is a small, animal skin pouch filled with broken shells and stones she had picked up from the sands close to her native village. It is the 1950's and a family migrates to England during the time of Windrush generation. Their daughter Erica marries and the couple settle in a seaside town in the north west. Ernie is determined his wife will have the best of everything and sets about turning their modest semi detached into a 'castle' fit for his queen. Fast forward to the present day, Erica, now a widow wants to find out more about her family's roots and hires the help of a young researcher, Laura Strite, to trace her ancestors. With her help, Erica finds out she is the direct descendent of the Hamiltons. More digging and Erica and Laura find out about a small child who died at the hands of the plantation owner, and Erica discovers the animal pouch amongst some of her own parent's long forgotten things.Erica, discovering she has only months left, decides to go on a pilgrimage to Ghana, where the child had come from, and from there to the Republic of Congo, to try and retrace Hamilton's roots, by staying at a game reserve on the banks of the river. She disappears and it is when remains are found close to the reserve, a young woman Summer Hightowers discovers she is the only beneficiary of a will from someone she has never met, and so Summer moves into the property with its quirky layout and dangerous secrets. It isn't long before the strange house throws up more ghosts and mysteries than Summer could ever have imagined and, inexplicably, reveals more to her own ancestry.