Christmas is fast approaching but for some people living at the top end of Peppercorn Street, the mood is far from festive. Luke Morgan is not getting on with his teenage daughter, who has recently returned to live with him. In a nearby village Claire Small is trying to avoid her sadistic ex who is stalking her. When Claire and Luke are thrown together by a car accident caused by her dog, it's obvious that she is in danger and he impulsively invites Claire, her delightful small daughter and their lovable dog to take refuge in his home. Can the presence of strangers help to rebuild the relationship between Luke and his own daughter? And will this Christmas give them the best present of all: a new family - or will Claire's ex again cause trouble?

Abigail Beadle has given two decades of her life to caring for her late father and preserving the family home, Ashgrove House in Wiltshire. When her loathed stepmother, Edwina, dies, Abigail is glad to be released from her bullying. She will also be able to look after the house properly, perhaps have a real Christmas at home, without Edwina's stranglehold on the finances. But her stepmother left behind a will that casts doubt on Abigail's inheritance and raises the possibility that she will have to leave the home she loves so much. It is not until Lucas Chadwick, the man she loved when she was young, returns to the village that Abigail begins to believe her life might be able to start at last ...

Three women find new hope in Peppercorn Street, a small village in a beautiful corner of Wiltshire with a mixture of homes and people. Janey is 18 and living in a small flat with her baby daughter. Just as her new life starts to show promise, her past catches up with her. Nicole is renting one of the new luxury flats. She's just walked away from her husband and teenage sons, tired of being treated as a servant, suspecting her husband of having an affair. Winifred has lived in her large family home at the top of the street for over eighty years but it's all getting too much, though she doesn't want to leave. Things are not what they seem in any of the three women's lives and danger can strike at rich and poor alike. The trick is to survive it, and for this you need good friends and courage: all freely available in Peppercorn Street.

From the multi-million copy bestselling author ... Recently moved to the village of Essington St Mary, Rob Carswell discovers the plight of his new neighbour Ilsa who is battling illness as well as the bullying tactics of a local builder. It is proving to be a more dramatic corner of Wiltshire than the tranquil atmosphere would suggest. Nearby, Amy Hatherall is feeling adrift following the death of her mother, but a final handwritten letter leads her in an unexpected direction to a great-aunt she never knew she had. As the line of old hawthorn trees begin to blossom, they keep watch as romance and new beginnings bloom for the residents of the close.

An unexpected inheritance is most people's dream, but not for Paula. Having put bad times behind her, she is now happy and secure in Western Australia with her own business. This is a complete contrast to her rootless childhood, and she has little interest in the minor stately home in the English countryside of which she is apparently now the owner. Persuaded to visit the property in Wiltshire, Paula has to confront complications both romantic and financial that will test the old adage that home is where the heart is.

Rosalind's husband forces her to move from Australia to England because of his job with a multi-national company. But he's called away to deal with a crisis in Singapore and she's left to settle into a new country on her own. One by one, her three grown-up children need help with major life problems and there's only her to help them, because as usual, Paul puts his job first. Then she finds out that her husband's been unfaithful for years, and it's the final blow to their marriage, especially as she's met another man she finds attractive and kind. Her confidence grows as she wins acclaim as an embroidery artist and then she comes into an inheritance. Will her loyalty keep her with her husband, as it has before, or will Paul get more than he'd bargained for with the new, independent Rosalind?

When Mara Gregory receives a letter from the father whom she believed to have died when she was a child, her world is turned upside down. Aaron Buchanan only discovered that he had a daughter a couple of years ago and now he's desperate to play a part in her life. In the face of her mother's opposition, Mara arranges to go to Australia to meet her father and his family. Will she find him the disappointment that her mother promises? And when Australia brings another man into her life, she's faced with some huge decisions and some heartrending choices.

When the teenage girl who has been hanging around near the house knocks on the door and tells her she's her granddaughter, Cassandra Bennington is shocked rigid. There's only one way this can be true: if Evie is the daughter of the baby Cassie gave away for adoption when she was herself a troubled teenager. Is this a trick? Or is Evie's tale true? When she discovers why the girl has come to find her, it brings a tangle of other problems that she can't ignore. This was the last thing she expected to be dealing with as she moves into her new home in a leisure village in Wiltshire.

In Australia, Simone has been widowed for four years and is ready to make a more interesting life for herself. Her friends are driving her mad introducing her to eligible men; her busy daughters are just the opposite, wanting her available for babysitting. When she is offered a house swap with a couple in the UK, she takes it, though not without some trepidation. On the other side of the world, Russ has just taken possession of his new house and wants only peace and quiet after a serious injury and months of rehab. Can Simone and Russ help one another avoid meddling friends and relatives, and build new lives?