She left to find freedom, only to discover everything she needed was waiting at home.

At seventeen, Colette Keogh wants nothing more than to escape. Escape the family farm in the west of Ireland. Escape her mother’s criticism. Escape a future that feels like it’s already been written. But when her father suffers a stroke, her plans turn to dust. School is over. The city must wait. The farm – and her family – need her now.

Then Robbie enters her life. Kind, steady and nothing like the boys she’s known before, Robbie makes Colette feels seen for the first time. But one tragic decision and a wave of grief upend everything. Robbie is gone, and Colette is left to navigate a life she no longer recognises.

A move to Dublin promises the glamour Colette longs for, but the reality is far from what she imagined. And when a new friendship reignites her connection to the land, Colette begins to wonder if the life she ran from was the one she was meant to build all along.

Hiding from the Heart is a tender, emotionally rich story of first love, family duty and the quiet power of coming home.