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When John Dalmane, Earl of Saint Helens, passes away, his widow Susan is immediately troubled by dreams—not of her departed spouse but of a man with whom she had an affair two years before. Jim Sandy was the guide at Dalmane’s estate. Discovering Susan’s unfaithfulness, John fired Jim at once. Jim is now a railway porter casually eyeing a local girl. His father and he are planning a vacation to the Hebridean Isle of Skye, so when Samantha, Susan’s maid, comes for a short visit apparently out of the blue, they welcome her personal recollections about the island not knowing that Susan plans a sailing excursion to Skye. Jim has been remembering Susan with longing. When her yacht, Osprey, arrives in Skye’s harbor, Jim has a fresh opportunity to regain lost love, while the widowed Susan has the chance to find true solace.
The author of this engaging romance is a retired musician who has written previously about Jim Sandy and Susan Dalmane. Wetenhall hales from the town where his fictional hero lives, so he provides lively descriptions of that locale. The author has also clearly researched the book’s primary setting, the Isle of Skye, in great detail. The island’s charms make it almost a character in itself. Wetenhall’s writes confidently and intelligently, showing an ear for dialogue and an insight into the mind of a young man who earnestly seeks love but not always in the right places. With equal sympathy, the author portrays Susan as a grieving widow with warm memories of her brief, happy liaison with Jim. This volume is neatly arranged with just enough frustrating roadblocks to the central couple’s reunion—at times with amusing spin-offs—while maintaining the comfortable sense that things will turn out right for the star-crossed lovers.