‘Welcome to Branston College … We are an academic institution in the heart of an ancient university town. Our architecture might not feature dreaming spires, but the central dome nonetheless casts a characterful shadow. Amenities include a distinctive subterranean bar and a newly renovated garden where you can observe local wildlife.’

Diana is starting a new life as gardener at Branston College, a challenging restoration project which allows her to indulge a love of delphiniums beneath the disconcerting gaze of dishy but remote Richard, the recently widowed College Master.

A new term brings new students, among them ‘It Girl’ Amber, darling of the gossip columns and dead certainty for inclusion in the university’s notorious elite society. As lustful teenagers and crabby tutors run riot in Diana’s garden, her peaceful haven is trampled… and then a blast from the past threatens to ruin a new romance.

Can anything save Diana’s hard-won happiness, let alone her herbaceous borders?