Chloe and Philip need a vacation. The past few months have been incredibly hard on both of them, ever since the bank that Philip manages was involved in a takeover. Philip has been obsessed with the possibility of losing his job, and his inability to let go of the tension is driving Chloe insane. So, when Gerard, an old friend from her school days, offers Chloe and her family the opportunity to stay at his Spanish villa for a week, Chloe leaps at the chance. Unfortunately, upon arrival they discover that Gerard also promised the villa to another family, Hugh and Amanda Stratton and their two young daughters, for the same week. Suddenly their peaceful getaway becomes a forced cohabitation with a family of strangers.

However, unknown to Philip and Amanda, Hugh and Chloe are not strangers -- they are intimately acquainted with one another. More than fifteen years ago, they dated for several months until the day Hugh learned that Chloe had an infant son from a previous relationship and Hugh decided to cut all ties to her, leaving her heartbroken and furious. Hugh desperately wants to make amends for his poor behavior, but his good intentions are being lost under an avalanche of lust he can't control whenever Chloe is in the room. When Chloe begins to show signs that she's facing a similar struggle, they set out on a course of action that threatens to destroy both their families.

The premise for this book intrigued me... two families being forced to share an isolated villa in a foreign country because of the seemingly absentminded behavior of their host. The early depictions of Chloe and her family were sweet and even funny, and while Hugh's relationship with his wife and daughters was obviously far from ideal, I felt his heart was in the right place. I thought it would be a light, fun book.

However, as I read further into the story, I became aware of a very dark undertone to the plot. I had trouble liking Hugh and Chloe after the first thirty pages because they're depicted as incredibly self-absorbed and emotionally immature. Philip and Amanda don't fare much better, although at least they both genuinely love their children, and on several occasions they willingly sacrifice their own wishes for the sake of the kids. However, if I ever had to share a vacation home with either of these families, I would run for the hills. In the end, the book was disappointing, partly because the story was not what I expected and partly because for much of the book the characters were so unlikable, but perhaps if you know going in that it's a tale of dysfunction, you'll be able to find more humor in the story than I did.