Master of His Fate

London 1884

Queen Victoria is on the throne and the British Empire is at its peak. Barrow boy James Falconer hungers for a different life: his dream is an empire of stores like Fortnum and Mason. When he secures a job with wealthy market owner Henry Malvern, it is his chance to climb beyond his beginnings.

But the divisions between rich and poor remain. Violence and betrayal threaten James’s hopes – and tragedy destroys those of Henry’s ambitious and brilliant daughter Alexis. Everything they hold dear is jeopardised. Can the barriers of class and tradition ever be overcome?