Donna Jonas Milner's writing is deeply rooted in the landscapes and experiences of British Columbia, drawing inspiration from the places she has called home. Her narrative style offers a realistic portrayal of settings and characters, reflecting the distinctive environments and communities of the province. After dedicating years to family and a career in real estate, Milner pursued her passion for writing, exploring themes of belonging, identity, and humanity's connection to the natural world. Her debut novel achieved international success, being translated into numerous languages.
After losing their daughter, Julie and Ian move to the Chilcotin region of British Columbia where they buy a ranch with a condition that the tenant, Virgil Blue, maintains his ability to continue living there. While dealing with their grief and their deteriorating marriage, Julie and Ian reluctantly allow Virgil into their lives.
Growing up on a dairy farm in the mountains of British Columbia in the 1960s, three kilometres north of the American border, Natalie Ward knew little of the outside world. But she had her family. A family so close and loving that Natalie believed they were the envy of the nearby town of Wakefield - particularly her eldest brother Boyer, whom Natalie held especially close to her heart. But Natalie began to question her family's idyllic existence the summer she turned fifteen. The arrival of a soft-spoken stranger, an American draft-dodger called River, would test the morals and beliefs of the family and the community to breaking point. The series of events following that summer day would leave relationships shattered and the Ward family changed forever.