Imogen and Alex Cameron have a great life in London. They've got a large house, a lovely nine-year-old son called Rufus, and the requisite best friends across the street. But upon closer inspection, the cracks begin to show - the Camerons are having financial difficulties, Imogen is not secure (given that Alex is a serial cheater), and now Alex has been given a warning at work that things are quite dire.

To save money, they decide to move to a country cottage and rent out their house. Sure, Alex will have a commute, but they'll be saving money in the meantime. But the cottage isn't just any cottage, it belongs to Alex's ex-girlfriend, Eleanor. And the cottage comes complete with cows, sheep, and chicken. Suddenly, the city chic Imogen has to quickly adapt to country life.

This is a classic "fish out of water" story with a twist as Imogen struggles to adapt (involving several adversarial run-ins with the local veterinarian), and then worries about whether Alex is slipping into his old ways of cheating on her since he is now in closer proximity to Eleanor. This becomes especially worrying when he decides to stop commuting two hours each way to work and takes a flat in London during the week just as Eleanor finds business in London to occupy her time.

Although I enjoyed the basic plot, the author took too long to tell the story. And while the humor of Imogen being out of her comfort zone is fun the first few times, it gets tedious after awhile.

The high points of the book, however, include the description of the scenic English country, which makes one long for a week-long getaway, complete with quaint animals and quirky villagers. The young son of Imogen and Alex, Rufus, also brings wisdom to the book, sometimes beyond his years. The wit and humor that can only be seen through the eyes of a child are refreshing, though, and often much-needed in this story.