Emma Porter is forty, fat, frumpy, and a passionate amateur
gardener. When her longtime lover dumps her for a younger
woman, Emma escapes the cloying sympathy of family and
friends by setting out on a summer-long driving tour of
England's glorious gardens. A Dimity-contrived coincidence
brings her to Penford Hall, a sprawling Gothic mansion in
Cornwall, where she finds a duke in search of a missing
lantern with extraordinary powers. Suspecting there's more
than one mystery to be solved at Penford Hall, Emma accepts
the duke's invitation to stay on and restore the once
glorious chapel garden to its former beauty. The dark rumors
surrounding a rock star and the near-death of the duke's
beautiful cousin confirm Emma's suspicions, and set
her--with Aunt Dimity's ghostly guidance--on the path to
Penford Hall's secrets and the pleasure of unexpected love.