Orphaned at a very young age, Veronica's life was fraught with gut-wrenching tragedies and great loves. During her lifetime she commanded the love of three handsome and powerful men. The first great love of her life was John Shaeffer, a young medical student. After only two years of marriage, circumstances forced her to leave him. While working toward her masters' degree in library science she met and eventually fell in love with wealthy Michael Howard. After more than twenty years of marriage, her well-known scientist husband left her for his beautiful young graduate assistant more than twenty years his junior. As Veronica attempts to put together the shattered pieces of her life, she finds that she is becoming emotionally involved with devastatingly handsome Doctor Alan Gorman. Alan is a reclusive professor, who blames himself for the tragic auto accident that claimed the lives of his wife and young son. Doctor Gorman has vowed never to become 'involved' again, and is distressed to find himself not only attracted to the 'prim and proper' librarian ... but also falling in love with her After a chance meeting on the beach, a casual friendship develops into a close relationship. With the sexual tension between them mounting, with even the most casual encounters, and seemingly no commitments of any kind from Alan, Veronica runs off to Europe for the summer Running away was how Veronica handled any perceived rejection. She had done this before ... and to this day lives with the dire consequences. True to form, life is not that simple for Veronica, as she must eventually face the challenges of becoming a noted writer and at the same time being the wife Alan Gorman needs. Then, there is still the problem of telling her son the truth of his birthright.