This was to be a new beginning and Alison was used to new beginnings, only they'd never felt like her own. After a lifetime of arranging new beginnings as the trailing spouse of a high-flying diplomat, Alison is more than ready for retirement. Disastrously, her husband has other plans, leaving her high and dry on the eve of their new life together. With no choice but to make her own new beginning, Alison does the unthinkable and moves to the country, charmed by a picturesque clock tower and not entirely welcomed by her new community. Things don't start off well after a run-in with irate neighbour Robert Rowbottom and worse still with celebrity author Hal Davidson and his macho take on life - though perhaps Aidan Forester's art class and his adoring sparrows will provide just the creative outlet she needs to turn her new life around. A story that will warm your heart and remind you of the joy (and sometimes pain) of new beginnings.