Sins of the Father — Kim Hunter

Having the sad misfortune of not only being forced to live on Brick Lane but also being the eldest illegitimate child of Shamus O'Mara, a violent Irish drunk, Grace Wilson's mere existence was simply beyond comprehension. Never expecting more than she'd been dealt, Grace's young life was totally devoid of love, kindness or any of the niceties that life seemed to bestow upon others. Her sole role was to merely raise her two younger brothers in the best possible way that she could, however, she could. Money was tight, actually more than tight it was almost non-existent but for most of the time, she somehow managed to feed her siblings, even if that food was often scavenged from the numerous dustbins located at the rear of the small stores and Indian restaurants that were dotted along Brick Lane. With her sixteenth birthday fast approaching Grace had one wish, to simply spend an evening, just one, with her only friend Linda and for once not have to think about her sad life or worry about what her two little brothers were getting up to. The Carpenters Arms held a teenage disco in the upstairs room on Friday nights and the two friends had made a date to celebrate Grace's birthday but the outing would take more than a little planning if she was to escape the flat without Shamus finding out. Somehow the plans miraculously all came together but the night, didn't turn out at all as planned, it was actually a complete and utter fiasco but it was also the night that she would meet East End heavy Big Jimmy Kilham and her life would change forever!