All At Sea

Saltby is a town where the sea shapes lives, old friendships run deep, and sometimes the past refuses to stay where it belongs.

Victoria Carter has returned to the place she once called home, but she is no longer the young woman everyone remembers. Years earlier, a violent attack left her physically and emotionally scarred. She escaped to a new life, eventually marrying Walter Johnson, Saltby's wealthy businessman. From the outside, she appears to have everything. In reality, she has spent years struggling with the aftermath of what happened to her.

Andy Barlow has never forgotten Vic. They grew up together, shared a love of the sea and once seemed destined to spend their lives together. But when Vic returned from university married to an older, wealthy man, Andy believed she had chosen money over him. His hurt hardened into resentment, and the two drifted apart.

Then Walter's luxury yacht, Big Fish, is damaged by fire in Saltby marina. The police investigate whether it was an accident or a deliberate act, and the enquiry begins to uncover uncomfortable truths about the people connected to the boat.

Meanwhile, Andy is determined to protect his independence and his own fishing boat, The Red Flag, from Walter's business ambitions. Their rivalry puts him on a collision course with the wealthy businessman, while his bitterness towards Vic makes it difficult to see beyond his assumptions about her life.

When Vic discovers Andy badly injured aboard his boat, she acts quickly to save him. His recovery brings them together in circumstances neither could have anticipated. As they begin to talk, the carefully guarded stories they have told themselves start to unravel.

Vic must confront the trauma she has hidden for years, while Andy faces the possibility that his judgement of the woman he once loved has been painfully wrong. As the truth emerges, both have to decide whether they can let go of old hurt and find a way forward.

Set against the boats, harbour and rugged coastline of North Yorkshire, All at Sea is a story of love, loss, resilience and second chances. With a police investigation, a richly drawn coastal community and the warmth and humour of the wider Ripsea world, it explores how people can become lost in their own assumptions — and how honesty can sometimes bring them safely home.