Cover

Praise for Debbie Howells

‘A terrific new talent’

Peter James, author of the Roy Grace series

‘Dazzling’

Daily Mail

‘Sharply written … holds you tight and then drops you like a stone’

Liz Nugent, author of Our Little Cruelties

‘Haunting’

Good Housekeeping

‘A sinister, twisty tale you won’t want to put down’

Sam Carrington, author of The Open House

‘I was completely immersed … a superb thriller’

B P Walter, author of Hold Your Breath

‘Brilliantly twisty’

Tammy Cohen, author of When She Was Bad

‘Utterly compelling and addictive’

Samantha Hayes, author of Until You’re Mine

Readers gave The Vow five stars …

‘Superb story, characters and twisty ending’

*****

‘I read it within 24 hours – I loved it and couldn’t put it down’

*****

‘She has a beautiful way of writing’

*****

‘Full of twists and turns all the way through’

*****

‘Mesmerising from the start’

*****

‘Kept me guessing right to its satisfying final pages’

*****

‘I highly recommend this and all of Debbie’s books’

*****

‘The exciting plot and interesting characters all had me hooked’

*****

‘A roller coaster of a read’

*****

Dedication

For my sisters

Sarah, Anna and Freddie

Niamh

It began with Dylan and the way he captivated people, drawing you into another world where anything was possible. Once you glimpsed those glittering horizons of his, you couldn’t go back. Not ever.

Hollie didn’t have a chance. She was too fragile, looking for a love she needed but had never had. Not even from the people closest to her: the mother she adored who screwed her up, then killed herself; the father who didn’t have time for her; the stepmother who tried to love her, but couldn’t give her the mother’s love she craved.

It seemed inevitable that Hollie and Dylan would fall in love. And, for a while, it was glorious. In a village where we were the only teenagers, they were a common sight – hand in hand, his dark head towering above hers, Hollie in ripped jeans and an oversized coat that only accentuated her ethereal beauty. When love consumed you the way theirs did, everything else was irrelevant.

Until the day of yellow sky and wild winds, when it all stopped.

Chapter One

Elise

I’m strapped into my crew seat. As the aircraft accelerates down the runway and takes off for London, I watch the woman sitting in the first row opposite me. Her blond hair is shoulder length, her eye makeup minimal, her lips red. I’m envying the biker jacket and green dress she’s wearing, when I’m drawn to a headline on the cover of the magazine she’s reading: ‘Only Ten Per Cent of People are Good’.