College teaching assistant Ruth Tyack is excitedly planning for a new job in Rome when she falls in love with Tom, a poet and guest-lecturer at the college. Despite their intense feelings for each other, Ruth and Tom must part after a single romantic together. Tom is married and has too much respect for his wife and a deep bond with his special needs' son. In Italy, Ruth is caught up in a whirlwind romance with Bruno, the scion of an aristocratic family. Their marriage is happy but brief as Bruno is killed in an auto accident and, in her grief, Ruth turns to his handsome cousin, Peter, who has long been in love with her. But once remarried, Peter demands that Ruth model herself after other wives of wealthy Italians—docile homemakers and mothers who look the other way when their husbands have affairs. As her unhappiness grows, Ruth keeps returning to her feelings for Tom and the love that has never been extinguished. Having kept in touch with him over the years, she's been deeply affected by his personal tragedy and the anguish he faced as his wife suffered a series of breakdowns and was committed to an institution. Should she remain in an increasingly untenable marriage or follow her heart? The rerelease of this bestselling contemporary romance has been updated to include three new chapters which reveal the path she takes.