Ellie Gunn

One Handful of Earth Ellie Gunn First edition

In 1813, Bella MacDonan is the healer and midwife for the Clans living along the Kildonan River in the pastoral Scottish Highlands. Her peaceful life is threatened when a stranger rides into their glen. He shows Bella a map of land for sale: the ancestral MacDonan homesite. The Highland Clearances have begun. Bella and her husband Alec lead a delegation to Dunrobin Castle hoping to convince the woman who holds the deed to their land, the Countess of Sutherland, to spare them from eviction. Their journey takes a dangerous turn and when her children are threatened, Bella is tempted to use violence in return.