When her father died, of course Ruth was sad -- but she still had a lot to make her life pleasant: her work as an illustrator, her beloved home in the New Forest, her old friend Gareth. But a new Head Forester had had to be appointed to take her father’s place and Ruth certainly hadn’t foreseen the upheaval in her life that would ensue when he arrived. For she and Ross Hamilton just couldn’t get on; they seemed to cross swords every time they met. Yet why did Ruth so dislike the idea of his close friendship with Linda Appleton?