Agatha Raisin's ex-husband James has become engaged to a beautiful young woman, and Agatha has been kindly invited to the wedding. This is a difficult pill to swallow, so to take her mind off it, Agatha begins a flirtation with Sylvan, a Frenchman she met at James's engagement party. She also decides to holiday in Istanbul, where unfortunately, she bumps into James and his fiancée, not once but twice - convincing him...
The third novel in Annie Murray's "Birmingham" series. While Genie's father is away fighting in World War II, her mother has a ruinous affair which leaves her pregnant; Genie's little brother leaves, never to return; while Genie herself meets a man who then disappears to war.