Julia Alden has fallen deeply and unexpectedly in love. American obstetrician James is everything she didn't know she wanted --- if only her teenage daughter, Gwen, didn't hate him so much. Uniting two households is never easy, but when Gwen turns for comfort to James' 17-year-old son, Nathan, the consequences will test her mother's loyalty and threaten all their fragile new happiness.

Adam Newman has been dating Rachel Gilbert since they were both 16, and now they are finally planning to marry. But as the vast machinery of the wedding gathers momentum, Adam feels the first faint touches of claustrophobia. And when Rachel’s younger cousin moves home, Adam starts questioning everything, suddenly torn between security and exhilaration, tradition and independence.