Beware the return of ex-lovers. “Dormant” is not the same as “dead.”
They all thought Laura had got over her childhood love for ne'er-do-well Maurice Pettifer when she married solid, dependable Giles Curnow. They all thought Maurice died in South Africa, too – until, one evening in 1902, he turns up again, rich, unmarried, and determined to buy the neighbouring property to the Curnows.

First published in 1992 by Piatkus in London and St Martin’s in America the book attracted the following reviews:
* Although this talky saga often drags, Macdonald nonetheless depicts turn-of-the-century Cornwall convincingly — Publishers Weekly
* The theme [of a threatened happy marriage] has been tackled before but seldom so well — Liverpool Daily Post
* More of Macdonald's wise/unwise, chatty, jaunty women–a pair this time–and their equally entertaining men, again holding forth in the environs of a Cornish village... As with others in this series: a treat for those enjoying the copious gab of long-winded ladies bent on loving and liberation. Busy, sputtering, noisy fun — Kirkus
* Probably the best yet as he brings his characters to life. He manages to combine the enthusiasm of a natural storyteller with delicacy as he decribes the scenes of a family's life torn apart — Western Morning News
* Another fine romantic saga of Victorian Cornish life — Publishing News
* A truly captivating romantic Cornish saga — Western Evening Herald
* Malcolm [Macdonald] is an outstanding writer. He has the ability to involve his readers wholeheartedly in the drama, so that we really care about the characters and their fate. He moves the story along in such a way that interest never flags, but he never sacrifices the more subtle nuances in their absorbing relationships — Plymouth Sunday Independent
And—of Macdonald himself:
*He is every bit as bad as Dickens – Martin Seymour-Smith