With the bookshop where she works about to close, Laura Horsley finds herself agreeing to help organize a literary festival deep in the heart of the English countryside. But when an innocent mistake leads the festival committee to believe that Laura is a personal friend of the author at the top of their wish-list, she finds herself travelling to Ireland to persuade the notorious recluse (and her literary hero) to come out of hiding.

Juggling widowed parenthood with her career and numerous Cotswolds events, Nel Innes struggles to rally the community after the death of an old friend threatens regional lands.