The Hermitage Mt Cook, New Zealand, 1946 When the volatile Stella is hired as a mountain guide she vows never to return to a life of domesticity below the snowline. With her mentor Philip and troubled returned soldier Jim she roams the Southern Alps finding freedom in her unconventional career. But Stella and her friends are powerless to prevent a tragedy which will shatter their lives.2019 Veteran Wellington journalist Kath walks out of her life leaving behind some puzzling old mountaineering photographs. Her daughters, small-town reporter Robin and alpine guide Helen, learn of a deathbed confession made by their grandmother Sarah decades earlier. But they dont know if it is linked to Kaths disappearance. In searching for their mother, they uncover the twisted story of the ill-fated Stella, Philip and Jim and expose the lie at the heart of their family--Back cover.