On the eve of the first world war, a little girl is found abandoned on a ship to Australia. A mysterious woman called the Authoress had promised to look after her, but the Authoress has disappeared without a trace.

In 1930, on the night of her twenty-first birthday, Nell O'Connor learns a secret that will change her life forever. Decades later, she embarks upon a search for the truth that leads her to the windswept Cornish coast and the strange and beautiful Blackhurst Manor.

Upon Nell's death, her grand-daughter, Cassandra, comes into an unexpected inheritance. Cliff Cottage and its forgotten garden are notorious amongst the Cornish locals for the secrets they hold, and it is here that Cassandra will finally uncover the truth about her family and solve the century-old mystery of a little girl lost.

A woman on a quest to find out the truth about her family, a mysterious Victorian authoress, a book of dark fairytales and a long-hidden secret - The Forgotten Garden is another addictive and compulsively readable romantic mystery from Kate Morton, author of the international bestseller The Shifting Fog.