Seventeen and never had a boyfriend, Sandra is resigned to a life without romance.

Everything changes when Fergus Hardisty, her father's fifty-something boss, proposes marriage. Mum and Dad seem keen on the idea, so she accepts. She might never get another chance. Yet why do Malcolm Pogson's eyes avoid his daughter's? What does he know about Hardisty that others don't, and why does he cringe with shame when no-one is looking?

The wedding is lovely, but those watching from a distance know it takes more than a fancy dress and a silver horse-shoe to compensate for mar- riage to a bloke like Hardisty. They will be watching.

Home alone, obliged to keep the house as it always has been, Sandra spends her days examining her own failings. When things go wrong and sad things happen, she blames herself, fearing the power of her own thoughts. Is she evail? She must learn to empty her mind so no-one else can be harmed. Compassion and healing come from unexpected sources until, slowly, the kindness of strangers leads Sandra from darkness into light and pros- pects of future fulfilment.

This is a coming-of-age novel about power: the power of dominance over submission; of vanity over values; good over bad and kindness over cruelty.

It also shows the positive power of the human will in supporting the young, the weak and the helpless. The power of ordinary people doing ordinary things transforms Sandra's life and points her way ahead.