M/M novella with subthemes of bdsm, older man/younger man and multicultural (American/English) by Elizabeth Coldwell.

Alfie Crane accepts a lift from Boston to San Francisco from fellow college student Brad as he's too broke to take the bus. When they argue, he finds himself being thrown out of the car with only his wallet and the clothes he stands up in. After walking for miles, he reaches the tiny town of Paradise, Nebraska. He is desperate for help, and is taken in by diner owner Ray Rendell, who's looking for a new bus boy. Ray has always hidden his true sexuality, afraid of the reaction of family and townsfolk alike, but he's strongly attracted to the cute young Englishman. Romance begins to blossom between the two as Alfie settles in to the slow, easy pace of small-town life. When Ray is threatened in a hold-up, Alfie realises just how much the older man means to him. But can they really find paradise together?