It's now 1833 in this third instalment of the Saga. Life is just as challenging as ever at Roxburgh Castle, where the freethinking Randolphs are finding it harder and harder to retain a respectable housekeeper for very long.
Janet and John may be getting older, but they're as much in love as ever ... one steady source of comfort, given the difficulties their ever-extending circle of offspring, cousins, and dear friends always manages to bring them.
Among those difficulties ... nineteen-ear-old Adam is turning out to be more than a bit of a rake ... his twin sister The has fallen in love with someone unattainable ... teenaged granddaughter Columbine meets a handsome lad her Mum will consider thoroughly unsuitable, if she finds out about him ... and now curmudgeonly, strait-laced Sir Ranald MacDonnell, Baronet, and his reluctant young bride Flora, have just bought the old manor house up the road. Complications ensue!
True to form, Ms. Leslie weaves another enchanting, lighthearted, comid-drama tale, bringing together an enjoyable assortment of strong-minded female protagonists, handsome (if often befuddled) young men, and a lively supporting cast of quirky villains and allies, in her distinctive, satisfying exploration of the many and varied joys and contradictions, missteps, misfortunes, and good fortune, that attend love and life.