Clara Garden is thirty-five and single, with no escape in sight. Just jilted by her fiancé, who runs off to Las Vegas to marry his receptionist, she’s not sure where to turn—until a birthday gift from her mother gives Clara an opportunity to escape from Vancouver Island. She travels to England for a tranquil summer at Meadow Vale, a farm house deep in the Warwickshire countryside. Determined to put her failed relationship behind her, Clara anticipates history, culture, custard-covered desserts, and possibly romance as she embarks on her first foreign trip. It should be easy: stay in a beautiful house, walk a dog every day, and feed the ponies. Instead, she finds herself dealing with vaguely disturbing neighbors, a medically fragile Chihuahua, a pregnant pony on the brink of labor, and the fact that the previous three house sitters have met untimely deaths. Drawn into a family feud and local events such as the village fete and a children’s riding competition, Clara becomes known to local police and media before the summer’s end. Even so, she finds there is life after a broken engagement.

Clara Garden is thirty-five and single, with no escape in sight. Just jilted by her fianc, who runs off to Las Vegas to marry his receptionist, shes not sure where to turnuntil a birthday gift from her mother gives Clara an opportunity to escape from Vancouver Island. She travels to England for a tranquil summer at Meadow Vale, a farm house deep in the Warwickshire countryside. Determined to put her failed relationship behind her, Clara anticipates history, culture, custard-covered desserts, and possibly romance as she embarks on her first foreign trip. It should be easy: stay in a beautiful house, walk a dog every day, and feed the ponies. Instead, she finds herself dealing with vaguely disturbing neighbors, a medically fragile Chihuahua, a pregnant pony on the brink of labor, and the fact that the previous three house sitters have met untimely deaths. Drawn into a family feud and local events such as the village fete and a childrens riding competition, Clara becomes known to local police and media before the summers end. Even so, she finds there is life after a broken engagement.

Special thanks to my wife. Without her help, this could not have been written.

Dedeth, I reach across the many miles and gently touch your cheek and ask the wind to kiss you softly for me until we can be together.-- Patrick During the year of 1987, computers were not household commodities and communication was primarily done through letters. Two people from opposite sides of the Earth with contrasting cultures develop a unique and strong relationship simply through writing letters to one another. Over an entire year of penning back and forth they earned each others trust while discovering the true personality of the other. Thoughts of a future relationship that would endure a lifetime were constantly circling their minds. Dedeth, a young woman from a developing village in the Philippines, and Patrick, a man from the United States of America, grasped what each others inner self contained. They were able to fall in love despite the thousands of miles separating them. Dedeth and Patrick saved the letters they received and have kept them safe and close to their hearts. Those letters are shared in this novel to allow one to understand the breathtaking depth of their relationship that culminated from a single letter.