Anna is recently divorced, but her new Melbourne apartment doesn't feel like the fresh start she was hoping for. When her best friend suggests a tropical holiday, Anna takes the plunge - and finds more than she'd ever dreamed.
Ted, an elderly widower, has decided to sell his island home. It's full of family memories, so his three adult children will be devastated, but he knows helping them with the proceeds is the right thing to do.
Anna falls in love with Magnetic Island - and impulsively buys Coral Cottage. She's painting a wardrobe when she discovers hidden papers written by Ted's son when he was in high school. Moved, Anna makes enquiries to discover Tristan is running an outback hotel. Anna writes to him and they start a cautious friendship over email. Both burned by the past, they're avoiding new relationships, but they're intrigued by each other. There's little chance of them meeting, though - until Tristan returns for a family emergency.
Sparks fly, but can there ever be a future for them when they live so far apart - especially when Tristan's sisters see Anna as the woman who betrayed their family by buying their beloved Coral Cottage?
Barbara Hannay writes women's fiction, with over seven million books sold worldwide. Her books have been translated into 26 languages and a story set on Magnetic Island was made into a movie for Lifetime TV in North America. She is a winner of Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA award and has twice won Australia's Romantic Book of the Year award. Barbara lives in Townsville, Queensland, with her writer husband and enjoys being close to the Coral Sea, the stunning tropical scenery and colourful characters, all of which find their way into her popular stories.