On the brink of a life-changing decision, Alexis Fielding longs to find out about her mother's past. But Sofia has never spoken of it. All she admits to is growing up in a small Cretan village before moving to London. When Alexis decides to visit Crete, however, Sofia gives her daughter a letter to take to an old friend, and promises that through her she will learn more. Arriving in Plaka, Alexis is astonished to see that it lies a stone's throw from the tiny, deserted island of Spinalonga - Greece's former leper colony. Then she finds Fortini, and at last hears the story that Sofia has buried all her life: the tale of her great-grandmother Eleni and her daughters and a family rent by tragedy, war and passion. She discovers how intimately she is connected with the island, and how secrecy holds them all in its powerful grip...

文化生活译丛 X

有位名叫琼斯的先生在暴风雨夜救了北风,北风感激地送给他的女儿劳拉一条神奇的雨滴项链.到了上学的年龄,劳拉的雨滴项链帮了很多孩子.可是一个名叫梅格的小姑娘心生嫉妒,设计偷走了雨滴项链.劳拉和鱼儿,小鸟和老鼠一起在阿拉伯公主手中拿回了雨滴项链,并帮他们下了一场大雨.坏心的梅格被北风吹翻了家的屋顶.

小说所描写的故事发生在19世纪英国棉纺中心曼彻斯特。那时正值英国经济萧条时期，棉布滞销，工厂停产，大批工人失业。棉纺厂老工人约翰·巴顿为工厂老板辛勤劳动了一生，仍在贫困线上挣扎。儿子因生活条件恶劣，被猩红热夺去了生命；妻子因其妹妹被有钱人诱拐沦为妓女而深受刺激，精神失常，在一次临产时痛苦地离开了人世；唯一的女儿玛丽·巴顿被迫进时装店铺当学徒。约翰·巴顿在生活的打击下，逐步认清了资本家的剥削本质，他积极参加工人的请愿和罢工斗争，成为宪章派工人运动的积极分子，被工人们推选为代表，到伦敦向国会请愿，结果遭到英国议会的否决，请愿失败，约翰落得被解雇的厄运。这时，工人们在工会的领导下举行大罢工。以卡森父子为首的厂主们拒不接受工人的起码要求，最后，约翰满怀仇恨杀死了厂主的儿子哈利·卡森。约翰的女儿玛丽·巴顿美丽聪颖，但幼稚天真，爱慕虚荣。她认为自己长得美丽，幻想着日后做大户人家的阔太太。面对技术熟练的机工杰姆·威尔逊的求婚，她无情地拒绝了，却爱上了资本家的儿子哈利 ·卡森。当她知道小卡森并不想和她结婚，只图占有她的美色时，她如梦初醒，悔恨不忆，最后她真正爱上了爱怜着她的杰姆。因小卡森突然死亡，杰姆被当作情杀的凶手遭到逮捕。玛丽在亲友们的帮助下，历尽艰辛，终于在审判席上，以有力的反证洗剧了杰姆的嫌疑。最后，约翰主动自首，向老板悔罪，老卡森宽恕了约翰。待到夜尽天明，约翰闭目去世。杰姆与玛丽结婚，一起出国到加拿大。