Working for Conrad Ravensburg, the smooth, celebrated and successful author, has brought Josephine a career as satisfying as it is varied and exciting. It had been worth breaking an engagement four years ago in order to become the increasingly invaluable right-hand of this grand old man of letters. She had travelled the world and gained poise and assurance in his shadow.

And as far as Mike Wexford was concerned four years is surely time enough for healing. So when Josephine meets her former fiance again she faces the shutters of bitter hostility Mike raises against her with surprise and dismay. It is also more than a little embarrassing, as they have many good friends in common and avoiding encounters is difficult. But beyond the social embarrassment, there is real hurt. Determined to set the record straight, Josephine probes into the four year past and is shattered to find her charming employer has a streak of ruthless self-interest in his dealings with other people to which she has been blind for too long. But once aware of the facts, Josephine sets out to remedy a situation in a manner which takes courage and at the same time becomes a quest for the paths of summer past.