Artamon, a middle-class neighborhood in Sydney, Australia. Mary Horton, a spinster in her forties. Wealthy, yet simple and lonely, she believes she needs neither friends nor love. She lives quite content in her comfortable home with a spacious garden and an imposing Bentley parked in the garage. Not to mention the beach house, which she acquired with the fruits of her labor and investments. Literature and music help her fill her loneliness. Mary does not aspire to things she has never known. Tim Melville, twenty-five, an inexperienced factory worker, son of Ron and Esme Melville, who received him as a gift for their late marriage. He has the face, body, and grace of a Greek god. Although stunningly beautiful, he is far from possessing an intellect that matches his stunning physique. However, Ron and Esme, simple factory workers, sensible and unambitious, love him for who he is. The couple prepared him to live within his means. Tim is a tireless, insignificant construction worker, far more dedicated than his peers. His days are spent working hard and weekends with his father at a bar; his evenings are spent at home with his family watching television. For him, it's a safe and peaceful life. Tim is so wonderful to behold that Mary Horton can't believe her eyes when she sees him for the first time working on the renovations next door. The neighbor, a frank and kind-hearted person, was the one who alerted her to both his sweetness and his serious limitations. Even so, Mary hires him to work as her gardener on weekends and discovers that, with just a little kindness, she can extract everything from him. This is new to her, as is the affection she feels, a kind of maternal feeling she would bestow upon the son she never had. Tim also teaches her many things, including how to see the real world with new, optimistic eyes. An idyll in which both give and receive much, but which unfortunately changes, as happens with all idylls... A story of simple and gentle beauty, of unexpected events that will both touch and surprise readers.
