A Tide of Lovers and Seashells

With Alex truly back in her life, Maisie is gaining ground as his girlfriend and keeping it together with her London career as a writer. Her tenure as the YA author of the Annie Ashton series is drawing to a close, however, and she still has no clear vision of her future course of action, much to Arnold's chagrin. And her own.

Alex's time at Oxford is soon ending, and pressure from his mother Adele is growing for him to choose a postgraduate option that puts him safely out of Maisie's sphere of influence. Alex has already caught the eye of a charismatic Norwegian publisher who recognizes the latent talent of his past, and feels it would make him a promising candidate for an editorial role in the future.

Despite her reservations, Maisie finds herself encouraging him to make the same choice when she senses that he's unsure about both his London life and the academic path he initially considered. That puts her entire future on shaky ground, since it means he could be leaving England for months, even for longer -- dashing all hope that he might return to Cornwall in the future. This, just when Maisie desperately needs a friend in her corner during her career's first dangerous crossroads, one which only he would have understood in the past.

Crossroads are in the wind at the Penmarrow Hotel, when Maisie picks up extra weekends to keep her bank account afloat amidst her struggle for success. The latest visitor is a ghost from Mr. Trelawney's past, bringing an unexpected lesson in love and loss across time via the hotel's formidable manager. As the past carries personal reminders for each one, Maisie must remember that creative inspiration strikes in the most unlikely of places, if she wants to find a new path for her stories. And, when it comes to that, her future.

Loving someone is about choosing what's best for them. Is Maisie destined to say goodbye to the person she loves -- and hello to a future with her dream prematurely dashed again?