The Tortelloni Account

Jane Ashton, single mother of a teenage daughter, is employed as a personal assistant, PA, to a wealthy business tycoon, a John Skirton. They are close associates, a working friendship which has matured over several years and provides Jane with an above average income and an exceedingly comfortable lifestyle. Her daughter is at a private school and their home environment in Rochester is a well appointed apartment. Her security of employment appears unexpectedly threatened and then her future prospects are altered in a dramatic fashion. She becomes involved in a Shipping Company and seafaring, opening new and exciting experiences. She is to meet an older man who may become her romantic interest for many years. It is not an easy relationship as their particular personal histories create problems in trust and belief for their joint future together. Jane's daughter, Anne, has an important role within the evolving scene. The circumstance of an only child in a single parent family and her own personal experiences earlier and subsequent to her Mother's first steps in this burgeoning romantic liaison.

A collision between cargo freighters offshore from Beachy Head in the English Channel occurring some twelve years before the period of the storyline features significantly in the romantic saga as does the earlier business activities of Jane's employer mentor.