"The acclaimed, bestselling author--winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize--tells the enthralling story of how an unexpected romantic encounter irrevocably changes two families' lives. One Sunday afternoon in Southern California, Bert Cousins shows up at Franny Keating's christening party uninvited. Before evening falls, he has kissed Franny's mother, Beverly--thus setting in motion the dissolution of their marriages and the joining...

"When Evie McKnight slams into Jamie Mackenzie on a quay on Southampton, she flashes back to the day she accidentally knocked him into the river Cam. When she fished him out again, he shocked her with a searing, bold kiss before walking away in dripping wet shirt and kilt. Evie has no business reveling in memories of Jamie then and the nearness of him now--she is betrothed to a respectable man from a respectable and wealthy family. But Jamie appears...