Overview

She thought the safest place was behind a locked door.

Now the only shelter that feels right is Lindsay McAllister’s steady heartbeat.

Mara Vale has done the impossible—left Edinburgh’s gray corridors for the rolling green of rural Scotland, trading her prison-haunted past for a chance at breathing room. But healing is never linear, and living under the same roof with the woman she’s secretly in love with is equal parts comfort and torment.

Lindsay McAllister has spent months proving that care doesn’t have to come with strings. Yet one reckless night, a stranger’s kiss reminds her just how badly she wants Mara’s first trust—and her last. Guilt, jealousy, and unspoken desire simmer while Lindsay’s mother, Esther, treats Mara like family and sees the truth before either woman can say the words aloud.

When a forgotten box of prison relics cracks open decades of brutality, Mara spirals into panic that even Lindsay’s arms can’t quiet. Enter Audrey Patton—psychologist, best friend, reluctant referee—who offers clandestine therapy sessions and a clear warning: love can’t be forced, but it can be lost.

A rain-soaked drive, a borrowed red silk blouse, and a fireside confession push both women to the edge of what they can survive apart—and what they might finally claim together. Christmas is coming, and with it an invitation to belong. But to stand beneath the lights of the season, Mara must risk exposing every scar, and Lindsay must decide whether tenderness is enough when passion begs for more.

Without A Map is a slow-burn, hurt/comfort sapphic romance about choosing each other—and choosing yourself—one fragile, ordinary, life-changing day at a time.

Perfect for readers who love:

• Slow-burn angst that pays off in heart-stopping intimacy
• Found-family warmth (featuring one meddling, wonderful mum)
• Quiet Scottish villages, porch cigarettes, and wine-soaked confessions
• Trauma recovery handled with compassion and realism
• Middle-aged heroines who know life can break you—and love can still remake you

Trigger Warning: Sexual assault, PTSD, and panic attacks—always framed within a journey toward safety, consent, and hope.

Return to Katherine Page’s world of rain-kissed courtyards and second chances, where love doesn’t shout, it stays. Mara and Lindsay opened the door in The Room Upstairs; now discover whether they’re brave enough to build a home inside.