From the author of the hit Emma series comes another female-perspective novel dripping with fantasies too shocking and unspeakable for real life. Laura is stuck in a mid-forties rut. Her career as a handsomely paid lawyer is the envy of many, but the job has stolen her best years. And just when the kids have finally left home for college, sex with her husband George has ebbed away to almost nothing. Only in her dreams can she free that kernel of need that nestles within her: that to which she so willingly yielded half a lifetime ago.

Then, one sunny morning in spring, a strapping, straw-haired Scotsman walks into the office. He's on the opposite side of the negotiating table from Laura, but she can barely keep her eyes off him - never mind keep her thoughts on contractual technicalities. Even Andre, her giant bully of a colleague, is shaken by the brash new arrival. But only later that evening, when Laura gets back home, does the real shock come. A sudden surprise that means her desk will be empty until further notice...