This is a romance book but a little more in-depth plot than many. Jack Darlington is in love with his childhood sweetheart, but she has disappeared and marriage to spinster Rosaline, a plain, level-headed diplomat's daughter will further his career. Rosaline's love, an artist who had been painting her portrait, was booted from the house by her father, and marriage with Jack Darlington, a Foreign Office operative was his plan "just in case" Rosaline found herself with child. The story takes place between the rocky coasts of Scotland's Orkney Islands and the warm, mysterious beauty of Egypt, where Jack has been posted to try to forge a peace treaty, at least that's what he's been told . . . the reappearance of his former childhood friend and lover provides a twist and if I say much more you will not enjoy the story.
