The Returning is a novel set in both Cornwall, UK, and Ontario, Canada. It deals with a problem which is common to hundreds of people - the inability to express thoughts or opinions when under stress.
The story investigates past life experiences and how these may or may not impact on one's current life. Courtney, having failed her first oral for her PhD, enlists the services of a psychiatrist whose area of expertise is regression and hypnosis. At first, she wants only to overcome her afflication, but as the story progresses, Courtney realizes she needs help to deal with a recurring dream she has when she falls asleep in an old rocking chair. The dream threatens to overwhelm her life.
She has broken off a relationship with a man who teaches at the same university; yet her ex-boyfriend refuses to let her go. In some way this relationship and her new relationship are all tied into the dream and with her original problem. When she discovers the shocking truth, she is able to grow past her impediment to forge a new life.