 It is summer three years on and we return to wild Scottish Highlands and the residents of Cregean that we came to know and love in Rosamunde Pilcher s Winter Solstice. Former actress, Elfrida Phipps, has settled into a quiet life along side choir master Oscar Blundell and their dog Horace. Sam Howard, owner of the local paper, has found the peace and happiness he never knew was possible in the arms of the independent and beautiful Carrie. Lucinda, the countess, enjoys a new found lease of life away from the burden of the castle, her ancestral home recently transformed into a hotel. Vicar s son, Rory, and Carrie s sister, Lucy, enjoy the long warm days of summer, away from university, rekindling the spark they have always held for one and other. It is not long before unforeseen events conspire to upset this peace and tranquillity though - A libel case brought against the newspaper sends shockwaves through the local community and brings Sam into contact with the seductively intelligent authoress Alexia. Carrie, meanwhile, struggles with the smooth running of the newly formed hotel and how a not fully committed Sam will deal with her recently discovered  condition . Oscar, with help from the loving and supportive Elfrida, is forced to face the demons that have plagued him since the death of his daughter, Francesca, when a young boy, Brodie, finds his way into their lives. The seemingly unbreakable bond between Rory and Lucy is threatened, by the arrival of Todd, a young, mysterious and attractive backpacker. He holds a secret set to change the countess  life even more dramatically than the devilishly handsome gentleman staying at the castle hotel. Summer Solstice is a collection of love stories about, and for, people of all different ages and generations. Each character s tale connects, weaving in and out of the others, mirroring and countering them so that, as the long hot summer draws to its close, each is forced to examine their lives and decide to whom their loyalties lie or else risk loosing everything they hold so dear.