Lora gets into trouble when she goes to do a job for the man who got her brother sacked from his job and drove him out of the country and finds that, far from being the mean-spirited, unforgiving rich guy she expects, Matt is someone she could too easily fall in love with. The conflict in the story comes from Lora's struggles to understand the violence in her controlling father, the fact that she hasn't told Matt who her brother is, and the local spoiled rich girl, one Keryn Smithers, who does her best to wreck things for Lora.
Nicely, Lora and Matt come across as three dimensional and there is something inherently restful about the way of life Robyn Donald paints; the New Zealand Northland station privileged background, the old house complete with faithful retainer, the small community pulling together around the big man of the area, Matt. Donald has set many of her books in this type of setting and it is one she is obviously comfortable with (although by now she has Northland populated with so many big men with big stations that there mustn't be much room left to manouvre). Matt is one of her gentler heroes and all the better for it. He's not afraid to unwind a bit of his machismo and be a bit vulnerable.
This is a good read and one of Donald's best.
