Beyond Ivy Walls

by Rachel Fordham · 2024

In 1903 Iowa, the reclusive Otis Taylor returns to his hometown of Monticello under a veil of secrecy. Cast out by his own father for the physical scars that mark him, Otis hides his true identity while he settles his family’s affairs and searches for his missing toddler niece, the last living link to his lineage. When Sadie West, a 23‑year‑old factory worker desperate to support her family, seeks shelter in an abandoned building, she stumbles into Otter’s solitary world. As their unlikely friendship deepens, Sadie discovers the gentle musician beneath the hardened exterior, and together they confront the ghosts of the past. With the town’s rumors swirling and the mystery of the lost niece growing ever more tangled, Sadie may hold the key to Otis’s redemption and the chance for both of them to find a home built on love, not scars.