In the summer of 1900 a meteorite lands on the day of Peg Staynor’s baptismal, barely missing the small church in rural Ontario. This, along with Peg’s almost colourless eyes, is enough to resurrect a local superstition that will haunt Peg and her family for years. Many believe Peg to be a “river child,” taken over by an evil spirit from the Magurvey river that winds its way through the town. Feared and shunned throughout her childhood, Peg is blamed for every misfortune, from drought to ailing livestock. When her mother, her fiercest protector, dies suddenly on the same day World War I is declared, fourteen-year-old Peg must face not only the mistrust of the villagers, but of her father. His grief has driven him to take solace in drink and old superstition, leaving Peg with only her head-strong older sister for support. It will take the terrible reality of the war to shake off the sheltered atmosphere of the town, and allow Peg to break free.

Lori Ann Bloomfield grew up on a small farm in rural Ontario before moving to Toronto to be a starving artist. She was an overnight success. She went on to work as a jewelry designer before taking up her pen again, this time to write fiction. Lori lives in Toronto and is the host of the First Line blog, a source of inspiration for fiction writers.

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