When the vibrant, imaginative child Mary Immaculate is lost in the forest in the dead of winter, all hope seems lost. But her dramatic rescue by a young doctor leads to a new life in the city of St. John's where she is installed in the home of a family devastated by war-time tragedy. Part coming-of-age story, part romance, cold pastoral is a document of a post-war community searching for direction and a testament to the power of imagination. Margaret Duley was the first Newfoundland novelist to receive international recognition. Her work-known for its strong female characters, poetic prose, illuminating dialogue, and penetrating wit-was published abroad and praised in The New York Times and The Times (London). Now, after years of waiting, cold pastoral is finally available to a new generation of readers.