It was a summer of warmth…. Kate Ryan and her husband, John, have a rollicking pub in the Irish village of Mountfern… lovely twelve-year-old twins… and such wonderful dreams…. It was a summer of innocence… but all that is about to change this fateful summer of 1962 when American millionaire Patrick O'Neill comes to town with his irresistible charm and a pocketful of money… when love and hate vie for a town's quiet heart and old traditions begin to crumble away…. It was a summer of love that would never come again…. A time that has been captured forever in Maeve Binchy's compelling family drama… a novel you will never forget. "Totally engrossing…. Unforgettable…. An absolutely grand story…. A lyrical and compelling family drama…. Mountfern and its residents come vibrantly alive." — "The Plain Dealer." "The secrets hidden behind lace curtains, a young girl's first kiss, children's summer games, unexpected pregnancies, sudden deaths. She makes us feel as if we also know the place and the people…. One of those good old-fashioned stories that are as comfortable and comforting as home itself." — "The Philadelphia Inquirer"