Set in 1628, this is a novel with the very modern theme of child abuse. Kazy Clare and her half-sister Beth are looked after by their old aunt, as their mothers are dead. She's a tyrant, and the beatings she gives them have turned little Beth from a lively, happy child into a terrified bundle. Their father can't or won't see the problem, so the children run away. But Kazy is not used to looking after herself and Beth without grown-ups to run things, and when Beth falls ill they cannot run any longer. Kazy knows about a place called Collywell Cross, a community of people who live together in an old monastery. Their path leads them to that place and to the solution it offers. Interest age 9+.