A notice in "The Times" addressed to 'Those who Appreciate Wistaria and Sunshine' advertises a 'small mediaeval Italian Castle on the shores of the Mediterranean to be let furnished for the month of April'. Four very different women take up the offer, escaping dreary London for the sunshine of Italy.

A gentle romance begins innocently enough in the stalls of a London theatre where Catherine is enjoying her ninth and Christopher his thirty-sixth visit to the same play. He is a magnificent young man with flame-coloured hair. She is the sweetest little thing in a hat. There is just one complication: Christopher is twenty-five, while Catherine is just a little bit older. Flattered by the passionate attentions of youth, Catherine, with marriage and motherhood behind her, is at first circumspect, but finally succumbs to her lover's charms. The engaging humour of this autobiographical novel...

A discreet advertisement in The Times lures four very different women away from the dismal British weather to San Salvatore, a castle high above a bay on the sunny Italian Riviera. There, the Mediterranean spirit stirs the souls of Mrs Arbuthnot, Mrs Wilkins, Lady Caroline Dester and Mrs Fisher, and remarkable changes occur.

Lucy Entwhistle is swept into marriage by rich charismatic widower, Everard Wemyss. Together they live in The Willows, an old sprawling mansion which they share with the specter of his dead wifeE

Lucy Entwhistle is swept into marriage by rich charismatic widower, Everard Wemyss. Together they live in The Willows, an old sprawling mansion which they share with the specter of his dead wifeE

Since her mother's death Jennifer has devoted years of her life to her father, managing the family home and acting as his secretary. After the sudden announcement that he has taken a new wife, Jennifer, at 33, seizes the opportunity to lead an independent life.