The Scratch Pack

Set against the shattering backdrop of the Great War, this forgotten novel follows Gheena Freyne, heiress to Castle Freyne, as she navigates a world fracturing under the weight of conflict. In the coastal village of Duncahir, Gheena tends to her aging dog Crabbit while the war creeps ever closer to her small community, transforming the serene landscape into one haunted by absence and uncertainty. She must manage her complicated relationships with her stepfather and mother while also confronting the changed men who return from the front, broken in body and spirit. Among them is Darby Dillon, a soldier whose cheerful disposition belies the physical devastation he carries, and Basil Stafford, whose mysterious secrets add another layer of tension to this tight-knit world. What emerges is a quiet portrait of resilience and determination in extraordinary times, as Gheena discovers what it means to hold a life together when everything around it is falling apart. The novel captures the delicate interplay between personal struggle and collective trauma, revealing how war reverberates through every relationship, every conversation, every moment of ordinary life.