"BROWNE HAS A TALENT FOR DRAWING US INTO HER CHARACTERS AND SITUATiONS" - Irish News. Set in the mid 19th century, on the beautiful Island of Mull, the largest of Scotland's Western Isles, on the estate of Jarvisfield owned by Lachlan Macquarie Jnr - a young man deeply unhappy with his lot in life. In love with Beth Jarvis - the young girl of mixed blood whom he had believed would be not be accepted in Scotland's high society, leading him to marry someone else, now much to his regret. Beth - the daughter of George Jarvis, who has thoughts of no other man but John Dewar, the young naval officer who loved her and left her. John Dewar - a young lieutenant serving in the Royal Navy's "West Africa Squadron" patrolling the coast of Sierra Leone to prevent privateers transporting captured African slaves in the hold of their ships. A beautifully told dramatic and moving story of a young couple in love, and a young couple in hate, and the people around them who observe it all. Based on the true story of the Macquarie, Jarvis and Dewar families, THE WAYWARD SON is a complete stand-alone novel in its own right, and is also the fourth and concluding book in the 'Macquarie Series.