It was a summer of warmth.... Kate Ryan and her husband, John, have a rollicking pub in the Irish village of Mountfern... lovely twelve-year-old twins... and such wonderful dreams... It was a summer of innocence... but all that is about to change this fateful summer of 1962 when American millionaire Patrick O'Neill comes to town with his irresistible charm and a pocketful of money... when love and hate vie for a town's quiet heart and old traditions begin to crumble away... It was a summer of love that would never come again.... A time that has been captured forever in Maeve Binchy's compelling family drama... a novel you will never forget. «Totally engrossing... Unforgettable... An absolutely grand story... A lyrical and compelling family drama... Mountfern and its residents come vibrantly alive.» — «The Plain Dealer.» «The secrets hidden behind lace curtains, a young girl's first kiss, children's summer games, unexpected pregnancies, sudden deaths. She makes us feel as if we also know the place and the people... One of those good old-fashioned stories that are as comfortable and comforting as home itself.» — «The Philadelphia Inquirer».