For six dreadful months, David Corstorphine has tried to come to terms with his young wife's death, while caring for his three motherless children. Try as he may, David is unable to return to work, and his only form of solace comes from working in the garden of his parents' estate in the Scottish countryside. Dispatched unexpectedly to New York, David's family hopes that the impromptu business trip will help him get back on his feet. But the journey proves both disastrous and heartening. David finds himself settling in comfortably among the strangers of a seaside Long Island town, and takes a job as a gardener. But it is the people he meets, the pain he confronts, and the joy he is able to once again experience that prove to be magically transformative-- and as David learns to accept his enormous loss, he is able to open his heart to love once again.

A trip to Spain gives a middle-aged Scottish divorcée a new outlook on her trying life in this dramatic tale of second chances. Liz Dewhurst has witnessed quite a bit in her thirty-seven years: the birth of her son, the death of her mother, the waxing and waning days on the farm where she was raised . . . the sight of her husband in another woman’s arms. Suddenly, she’s feeling worn down and used up by the very lifestyle upon which she once thrived. Bitterness at her broken marriage has distanced her from her son, Alex—even as she’s poured all her remaining energy into battling the development company that wants to purchase her family’s land to build a golf course. Now Liz must confront a few things, including the fate of the farm, her feelings for her ex-husband, and a trip to Spain that rekindles a fire in her she had forgotten existed. Liz returns to Balmuir a different woman. Now, in the wake of a near-tragedy, she must draw on her newfound strength to make a difficult choice. To look at her life in a different way, standing tall, and starting over . . .

For six dreadful months, David Corstorphine has tried to come to terms with his young wife's death, while caring for his three motherless children. Try as he may, David is unable to return to work, and his only form of solace comes from working in the garden of his parents' estate in the Scottish countryside. Dispatched unexpectedly to New York, David's family hopes that the impromptu business trip will help him get back on his feet. But the journey proves both disastrous and heartening. David finds himself settling in comfortably among the strangers of a seaside Long Island town, and takes a job as a gardener. But it is the people he meets, the pain he confronts, and the joy he is able to once again experience that prove to be magically transformative-- and as David learns to accept his enormous loss, he is able to open his heart to love once again. Writing with deep sensitivity to human frailty, desires and joys that readers of his mother, Rosamunde Pilcher, have come to cherish, Robin Pilcher's An Ocean Apart will be embraced by generations of readers now and in years to come.

'A beautiful story of friendship, new beginnings and love . . . It's a love letter to the women who left behind everything to help heal our country and establish the NHS. I could not have loved this more and thought about it long after I turned the last page.' - Kate Thompson, author of The Little Wartime Library Inspired by real life stories of the Windrush Generation and her mother’s own experiences as a nurse coming to Britain from the Caribbean, Sarah Lee’s debut novel An Ocean Apart is a must for fans of Call the Midwife. It’s 1954 and, in Barbados, Ruby Haynes spots an advertisement for young women to train as nurses for the new National Health Service in Great Britain. Her sister, Connie, takes some persuading, but soon the sisters are on their way to a new country – and a whole new world of experiences. As they start their training in Hertfordshire, they discover England isn’t quite the promised land; for every door that’s opened to them, the sisters find many slammed in their faces. And though the girls find friendships with their fellow nurses, Connie struggles with being so far from home, and keeping secret the daughter she has left behind in search of a better life for the both of them . . . 'A glorious triumph of a book full of characters that feel like real friends, so atmospheric, compelling and nostalgic, I adored it.' - Alex Brown, author of A Postcard from Italy

The citizens of Belfast, Northern Ireland were keenly aware of the war raging in Europe and elsewhere. They duly put up their blackout curtain, formed fire-watch patrols and stood patiently in endless queues with their ration booklets. They never expected the German Luftwaffe would actually bother to attack their remote island. That complacency was shattered in April of 1941. After that first attack, eighteen year old Elizabeth Fleming refused to evacuate along with her two younger sisters, to the seaside town of Bangor, thirteen miles up the southern side of the Belfast Lough. Just over a week later, Elizabeth was caught away from home during the second and most deadly attack. She was plagued with nightmares for months afterwards. In late April of 1942, Richard Harrison, a laboratory technician serving with the U.S. Army Medical Corps, boarded an army transport ship in route to N. Ireland. Six weeks later the two would meet at a dance in a Belfast ballroom.

Illuminating. Captivating. Stunning. When the fireworks cascade over Edinburgh castle on the Festival's final night, the magic begins... Every summer, the Edinburgh International Festival attracts celebrated artists, musicians, comedians, and actors to the beloved Scottish city. Hundreds of thousands of people descend on the town to join in the magnificent celebration. This year, the annual Edinburgh festival draws six unique and vibrant individuals, who all come together to follow their dreams---seeking success, love, fame, and happiness: Angélique, the beautiful and renowned violinist whose fame hides her secret heartache; Tess, a member of the festival marketing team and a newlywed struggling with her own secrets; Roger, whose dazzling fireworks display will be the grand finale of the festival and his career; Leonard, the aging cinematographer who wants one last time to shine; Rene, the feisty comedienne who is reaching for the stars; and Jamie, the handsome young flat owner who brings everyone together and finds love along the way. Each of them is trying to discover what destiny holds in store, and during this one magnificent summer, paths cross and lives are forever changed. Inspiring, funny, engrossing, and full of vivid descriptions of the incredible sights and sounds of Edinburgh, Starburst is a poignant and enchanting novel in the grand Pilcher tradition.

With over 400,000 books already in print, the Dear Canada series has fast become the book series for children. Each fictional diary invites readers into the world of a girl living through a particular period in Canada's past. Gillian Chan's latest addition illustrates the effect the Chinese Head Tax has on one young girl and her family. Mei-ling and her father are struggling to pay the head tax that will allow her mother and brother, who are still living in China, to come to Canada. They must have that money before the impending Exclusion Act bars any more Chinese from immigrating. What will happen if they can't come up with enough in time to reunite their family?

While most 16-year-old girls are planning their weddings, Xueyan, known as Yanyan, has no interest at all in marriage. She is fascinated by medicine. In China in 1921, women rarely attend university, let alone medical school. Still, Yanyan is determined to become a doctor. But Yanyan’s feelings about marriage change when she meets Liang Baoshu. An outstanding scholar and martial arts student, Baoshu is passionate and dangerous. He is determined to rid China of the foreigners who occupy it and restore power to the Manchu dynasty. Life with him would be an adventure. But when Yanyan realizes that being with Baoshu would also mean sacrificing her dream of becoming a doctor, she faces the most difficult decision of her life. And her choice leads to an entirely new adventure an ocean away in America—where Yanyan is the foreigner.

Dan Porter had it all: a big house in suburban London, a beautiful wife, three children in private school, and a high-paying job. But then, it all collapsed like a house of cards. Now Dan stays home while his angry wife pursues a career, and his marriage falters. Returning to his old profession could mend the rift, but Dan needs to do something else, something more... Then, Dan hears about a company for sale in northern Scotland, and the temptation is too great to resist. With his son Josh and two dogs in tow, he lands in a primitive cottage above a frigid loch. As he takes stock of his past, he discovers a community who desperately needs his help, a new chance for the future, a risk that requires a leap of faith...and an astonishing love.

Closing a critical gap in the literature examining the strained relationship between the U.S. and Japan, this book synthesizes the economic, political, historical, and cultural factors that have led these two nations, both practitioners of capitalism, along quite different paths in search of different goals. Taking an objective, multidisciplinary approach, the author argues that there is no single explanation for Japan's domestic economic or foreign trade successes. Rather, his analysis points to a systemic mismatch that has been misdiagnosed and treated with inadequate corrective measures. This systemic mismatch in the corporate strategy, economic policies, and attitudes of the U.S. and Japan created and is perpetuating three decades of bilateral economic frictions and disequilibria. As long as both the U.S. and Japan deal more with symptoms than causes, bilateral problems will persist. This book's unique analysis will encourage a better understanding on both sides of the Pacific of what has happened, is happening, and will continue to happen if corporate executives and policymakers in the two countries do not better realize the extent of their differences and adopt better corrective measures.