When Rose sees Joe in an Oxford bar, it is instant infatuation. He is everything that turns her on: gifted musician, wit and high achiever. In her mind, at least, they are ideally matched. But Joe has no intention of settling down.

All Rose will ever be to him is part of his student past. Instead he embarks on a dazzling career which takes him abroad, leaving Rose alone with shattered dreams. She knows what true happiness can be like. Her parents have always been very well married, and the late arrival of her kid sister, Lily, helped make the family complete. But when Joe returns and falls for Lily, a dangerous rivalry ensues...