Jilted, weeks before the wedding, Cynthia Morrow throws herself into nursing work in India, hoping distance will quiet her grief. But when exhaustion forces her home to England, she returns to even greater loss. Her father has died, leaving behind debts that make it impossible to keep Birch Vale, the home she has cherished all her life. Its buyer is Robert Shelford, a man of means, reputation, and a manner Cynthia takes an instant dislike to. Yet he refuses to fade into the background of her ruined life, drawing her gradually into his complicated world, marked by unanswered questions and unexpected warmth. As Cynthia faces the future she never imagined without Peter, her childhood love, she must decide whether she can move beyond heartbreak - and whether she can trust the growing connection with a man she vowed to hate. Can Cynthia ever dare to love again? - all is told in this beautiful story of courage, trust and the healing power of love, by the Queen of Romance.