Stella Court

7.1 Shaken Stella Court

SECRETS ARE COVERED BY THE SETTLING DUSTIn the village of Filey, on the coast a few miles from Salisbury, New Zealand, Abby Hart has just moved into her new home. At fifty-three, she is divorced, with her adult children living back in England with their families. Her life is turned upside down when a 7.1 earthquake hits the city, devastating it, killing and injuring people in just minutes. In the aftermath, struggling with her injuries, Abby is cared for by her new neighbours, and starts to learn about the appalling reality of an earthquake. As she recalls the events, she is troubled by something she saw in the moments before she lost consciousness. Unable to reconcile what she remembered with what she is told, she becomes convinced that what looked like a tragedy was actually murder. How can she convince others when there are so many tragedies? Her neighbours decide to help her to find out the truth, and in her search for it, Abby teams up with the man at number twenty-one, Jack Robson, finding more than just the answers she set out for.