After 16 years of marriage Caroline Evans ended her marriage to James and 1 ½ years later is searching for a home of her own. After her husband's two previous marriages, Caroline had believed things would be different for her but disillusioned to find her husband a cheater with women on the side. Now she has a 15 (nearly 16) year old daughter, Isobel, (Izzy) in tow traveling the countryside of Buford, wanting to relocate from their temporary London residence to find a quiet and healing place. . Izzy blames her mother for leaving her father and like all teens, estranges herself from Caroline whenever she can. In the soaking rain and sharp thunder, they spot the Star & Plough pub and their salvation.

Maggie Gonzalez, her husband, Jesus, and teen daughter Samantha surprise them with their warm attitude that takes them in and provides a hot meal and rooms above the pub. With sporadic support from her ex for child support and a very small stipend from the pre-nup signed at the time of the marriage, Caroline is desperate. Maggie offers room and board in exchange for Caroline using her earlier cooking training and hires her on at a small salary to help with the pubs cooking. Caroline now has a dream of buying a dilapidated barn with a small cottage as she spies an old sale sign advertising "Bar, Grill & Dancing" close by. With help from her parents and her ex's partner from Singapore, she buys the property with visions of renovating and operating her dream of a restaurant which she will call "A Place in the Country". She and Izzy meet many new friends along with Jim Thompson who is a carpenter helping her restore the place. Feelings begin to envelope Caroline as she becomes close to Jim. News of financial trouble following the death of her ex puts everything to a halt as secrets of James's past, which quickly become part of her future, puts Caroline and her feisty teen on a new path of sorrow and finally a place they can again call home.

A PLACE IN THE COUNTRY is brilliantly created by ELIZABETH ADLER and is one that will stay with you for a long time to come. Consisting of mystery, heartache, sorrow and emotion, the story line is one that every woman can equate to as a woman who loved her husband and now has to deal with the responsibility of caring for her daughter alone. I have not had the pleasure of reading any of this author's books before, but this one will definitely not be the last. A PLACE IN THE COUNTRY is a wonderful tale of healing and forgiveness, for both mother and daughter!