It came as a shock to Jon Alexander when he discovered that his guide into the rain forests of northern Washington State was a young girl called Holly. It made no difference that the forest ranger, Holly’s brother Mike, would be with them, but Jon had to agree to her presence when it became clear she was the only one able to find the rare samples he needed.

Jon, a brilliant scientist, was astounded by his reaction to Holly, since he had always thought that love came a poor second to his all absorbing work. So when Holly turned out to be the student botanist assigned to work in his laboratory over the summer, life was suddenly not straightforward any more.