In the winter of 1790, a mysterious and deadly disease strikes the unsuspecting town of Aberdeen. The victims are all women in the prime of life. Determined to save his patients, talented young physician Alec Gordon embarks on an astonishing medical quest. What he discovers will shake the small, close-knit community to the core and change his own life – and that of his wife and young daughter – forever.
Based on a true story, Touching Distance is a stunning historical novel set in Scotland and the West Indies in the Age of Enlightenment. A vivid portrait of a pivotal moment in world history, it is also a universal tale of intimacy and estrangement, reason and passion, corruption and courage.
In 2009, Touching Distance was shortlisted for the McKitterick Prize and won the 2009 Medical Journalists' Association Open Book Award.