The False Men

North Uist, Outer Hebrides, 1848
Jess MacKay has led a privileged life as the daughter of a local landowner, sheltered from the harsher aspects of life. Courted by the eligible Patrick Cooper, the Laird's new commissioner, Jess's future is mapped out, until Lachlan Macdonald arrives on North Uist, amid rumours of forced evictions on islands just to the south.
As the uncompromising brutality of the Clearances reaches the islands, and Jess sees her friends ripped from their homes, she must decide where her heart, and her loyalties, truly lie.
Set against the evocative backdrop of the Hebrides and inspired by the true story of Jessie Balranald, The False Men is a compelling tale of love in a turbulent past that resonates with the upheavals of the modern world.

Mhairead MacLeod was raised on the island of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides and in Inverness, Scotland. She now lives in Brisbane, Australia where she is an ethics lawyer and investigator. She has also worked as a university lecturer and holds Masters degrees in Law and in Creative Writing.
An earlier draft of The False Men was short-listed for a HarperCollins Varuna Award for Manuscript Development and won a Hachette Manuscript Development Award.