Life after their parents' death had been none too happy for Irene and her nine year old sister, with a grudging aunt and uncle making it quite clear that the girls were nothing but a burden to them - so when their grandmother invited them to go and visit her in her home in Cyprus, with a view to settling there and helping her to run her Hotel Hermes in Nicosia, Irene was only too pleased to make a complete break with the past. It turned out to be a wise move, for their grandmother was as welcoming and affectionate as Irene could have hoped, and made it clear that she hoped Irene would marry and settle down in the beautiful island. There was just one snag: Irene soon found herself crossing swords with the hotel manager, David MacLeod, who once told her, 'I'd as soon kiss a tiger'!