First Born (novel)

First Born was the sixteenth release in the BBC Torchwood Novels series. It served as a prequel to TV: The New World.

Publisher's summary
Gwen and Rhys are on the run. Rhys was hoping this meant a windswept cottage on a cliff top, but he's had to settle for a miserable caravan in the isolated village of Rawbone. With the locals taking an unhealthy interest in their daughter, Gwen and Rhys start to realise that something is very wrong.

As they uncover the village's terrible past, Gwen discovers that Torchwood will never leave her behind, and now she and Rhys stand alone in defence of the Earth. And the children of Rawbone can only bring her closer to the secret forces that want her out of the way.

Plot
Gwen and Rhys flee from security forces in Cardiff and, after moving between Torchwood safe houses for two months, move to a caravan in North Wales with their newborn, Anwen. Three weeks later, they visit the pub in the nearby village of Rawbone and Gwen is disturbed by the interest that the locals take in Anwen and her health, particularly Sasha who tends to Anwen whilst Gwen is in a shop several days later. Davydd, Sasha's boyfriend, visits Gwen afterwards to explain that Sasha is struggling because of her infertility and kisses her, earning him a punch from Rhys when he walks in.

Gwen is sexually assaulted by Constable Brown, but Peter, a teenager, saves her and takes her to Mrs Harries's house before fetching Rhys. Mrs Harries recounts how births in Rawbone stopped in 1987 and that since then those who have wanted children have been given perfect teenagers who never age called Scions; now that Gwen and Rhys are here, some of the villagers want to have children with them, but Gwen refuses to move. Rhys sneaks out at night and beats Constable Brown as the Scion Jenny watches.

to be completed

Torchwood

 * Gwen Cooper
 * Rhys Williams
 * Anwen Williams

Inhabitants of Rawbone

 * Josh
 * Sasha
 * Davydd Hope
 * Nerys
 * Mrs Meredith
 * Megan Harries

Scions

 * Sebastian
 * Jenny Meredith
 * Peter Harries
 * Paul Harries
 * Billy
 * Sebastian II

Juniper Project

 * Corporal Jasmine Bailey
 * Elena Hilda Al-Qatari
 * Eloise
 * Tom
 * PC Tony Brown

Continuity

 * Gwen has a nightmare about the death of Ianto Jones and Jack Harkness. (TV: Children of Earth: Day Four)
 * Gwen also has a nightmare about Abaddon's shadow, (TV: End of Days) the Blaidd Drwg nuclear station (TV: Boom Town, PROSE: Another Life), the Large Hadron Collider, (AUDIO: Lost Souls) cannibal cults (TV: Countrycide) and the 456. (TV: Children of Earth)

Audio release

 * The story was released as an audiobook on download only from the AudioGo website read by Clare Corbett, Kai Owen, Katherine Fenton, Joe Jameson, Carole Boyd, Michael Stevens and Susie Riddell.