Seychelles, 1878. Louisa, newly arrived, finds herself confronting both her past and an uncertain future on the beautiful, yet isolated, islands. Plantation owner, Peter, faces his own struggles in the British colony, dominated by the old French landowning families. When Peter brings his sister to live with him on the plantation, he doesn't think of the consequences. Joseph, dark-eyed and quiet, follows Louisa with his eyes as she steps off the boat and into his life. And Sarah, young and determined, fights to keep them all together as they face illness, loss and persecution. When a man is killed on a neighbouring plantation, things start to unravel. Treading Softly, Breaking Shells takes the reader on a journey to the Seychelles of the past.