Melanie gives up her secretarial work in London to return to her old country home, Hazelwood, which her aunts now run as an hotel. Settling easily into country life again, she finds herself caught up in romance and the intrigue which surrounds it. She becomes involved with two men, the impressionable Robin Vinchard, a friend of her childhood, and a newcomer to the neighbourhood, the cynical, much-travelled ex-reporter, Ian Lancing. Her romantic idealism colours her view of Robin and challenges the bitter scepticism of Ian, who has experienced some of the harsher realities of life. Both of these men have much to teach her, and the lessons bring confusion and unhappiness before she finds the right road.