When Maggie Marino comes to Stepping Stones Special Needs School for a job interview, Noah Carson has no idea she and her glossy-coated Golden Retriever, Rosie, will change his life.

Maggie has had a difficult past, but she's overcome it with the help her family. She's a kind-hearted, caring person, but also has a backbone of steel now. Partly because of her own past, she's dedicated her career to work with Rosie, an emotional-needs dog, in school.

Noah is a terrific teacher and loves his students. But when Maggie's past brings back a traumatic event in his life, he realizes he's still greatly affected by what happened to him. His new and exciting relationship with Maggie is threatened.

The focal point of the story is a group of children who need both Noah and Maggie to navigate their classroom experiences. A bright spot for everyone concerned is Rosie, who provides comfort and calm to the students during difficult times. In a variety of ways, Rosie rescues them all, but is a darling dog enough to bring Noah and Maggie together again?

You can find the story of Maggie's background in COME BACK TO ME, book five of Kathryn Shay's To Serve and Protect series. Other books where she appears are ABOVE AND BEYOND, SAY YOU'LL STAY, ONLY WITH YOU and NO OTHER LOVE.