Scotland, 1789. Bloodied, pregnant and with nowhere left to turn, young Jane stumbles onto the sands of Myreton. Taken in by three reclusive brothers and tended by Grace, the village healer, she begins to imagine a future beyond the cruelty she has fled. In Grace’s herb garden and healing room, Jane discovers a gift for tending the sick – a calling that could finally grant her purpose and belonging.

But the past is not easily outrun. Stoked by a sanctimonious church elder, whispers of scandal spread quickly through the village. And in the shadows beyond Myreton, the man who once held Jane in his grip is determined to reclaim her.

Set between the peaceful coastal parish of Myreton and the seedy underworlds of Edinburgh and Leith, The Howdie’s Apprentice paints a vivid portrait of life in 18th-century Scotland. Atmospheric and gripping, it is both a coming-of-age story and a gothic tale of survival, resilience, and the struggle for freedom against those who would see it stolen.