When the local village primary school is threatened with closure, and it looks as if the children might be relocated to a much bigger, more anonymous school, feisty headmistress Rosy Winter and her team of loyal staff are determined to fight for its survival.
But what about Rosy’s private life – is everything fine there? No, it’s not, because even though she occasionally goes out with men she’s met online, she has more or less decided she wants nothing more to do with the male sex. A bad boyfriend experience while she was a student has put her off relationships for life.
Or has it?
When Matt, the epitome of a generous gardener, moves into the next door cottage, Rosy finds she’s attracted. But she vows to keep things cool: professional, even. So what was that late-night kitchen-table action all about? Oh, it was just a blip. Or was it?
Then Matt offers his services in the fight to keep the village school open. He’s something of a celebrity and thinks he could even get the school and its cute children on the telly, making them famous. Rosy would be a fool to turn down his assistance, wouldn’t she?
As well as Matt and Rosy, we meet a fabulous cast of subsidiary characters, including Matt's neurotic sister Angelina who needs her brother to run her life, or at least part of it, the chairwoman of the PTA who might have a heart of gold but who has the social graces of a python crossed with a ferret, a ditsy school secretary who should have retired years ago, a school inspector who deserves to be dropped down a very deep well, and handsome, rich American Chase who owns the local stately home.
There are some good jokes which make this novel a particular pleasure to read. What happens next in the Cornish village school? What will Rosy Winter do in the next instalment of this series?
I'm already looking forward to finding out.
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