Caught in limbo between two worlds ? the Before, when her mother was still alive, and the After ? Mary J. MacLeod has to work out for herself how this monumental change will affect her previously idyllic childhood. Passed from one family member to another, as her father comes to terms with his grief and tries to do the right thing, she soon finds herself part of a new family, one where she is more housemaid than beloved child. Somehow finding her way through the confusion and hurt, she comes to terms with her new situation and strives on, breaking free from the bonds of her upbringing to become a woman with her own character, priorities and sympathies. This is the story of Mary\'s formative years, from her chaotic and repressive wartime upbringing, through her nursing education and into her early adulthood, collecting the tools she will need when she embarks on her later career as the Island Nurse.