The Price of Fealty

Author: Russell Laing, June

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

Published on 28 February 2026 by The Book Guild Ltd in the United Kingdom.

1940.

Born in the impoverished Gorbals, Beryl Allen enters a world of hardship, shaped by hunger, violence and seismic social upheaval.

Amid the soot-stained streets and crumbling tenements, she finds companionship in the bold and charismatic Rhea. Their bond, forged in childhood, deepens into something more – something Beryl is too afraid to name.

Terrified of scandal and rejection, Beryl lashes out, shunning Rhea in anger – a decision with devastating, far-reaching consequences. Years later, Beryl must confront the truth she buried for decades…