Flora Douglas has spent thirty years running from Applemore - the remote Scottish village where she spent most of her childhood in foster care, always feeling like the odd one out.
Now a bestselling novelist with writer's block, two grown children and an ex-husband who still can't work the boiler, she's built a carefully curated life that hides every trace of that lonely, bookish little girl.
Until one night, fuelled by red wine and desperation, Flora finds herself doing the unthinkable - booking a six-month let in her childhood home.
The Harbour House isn't home anymore. It's been gutted and renovated by wealthy Londoners, stripped of every memory, which should make going back easier.
Except the village hasn't forgotten her - and neither has Tor Wilson, the boy whose careless teasing became the final straw that sent her running.
Now, with her creative life in crisis and his son about to leave for art school they're both facing the terrifying question - who are you when all your roles fall away?
As Flora reluctantly teaches a creativity workshop and Tor builds a space for lonely men to connect, they begin to discover that the stories we tell ourselves about our past might be the very things that are keeping us stuck - and that sometimes the only way forward is to stop running from yourself.
A warm and witty small town tale of empty nests, second chances, finding your voice - and learning that it's never too late to rewrite your story.
