Prize-winning writer Sarah Laing has written a superb collection of stories that are beautifully written, vividly rendered and which stimulate and surprise.'Imagine that you're a statistic,' says one of the characters in these quirky, haunting stories of people whose inner lives let them escape the boxes that others put them into. The single mum, the student working in the pie factory, the newborn baby, the dying woman, the Kiwi alone in New York and many others pass through these stories and in doing so let us enter their lives.

Widow Kate Blakely knew nothing of love - but she knew plenty about unhappiness. She'd married young, hoping to put down roots in a safe haven, but her husband had shattered her naiveté, and made her fear for her beloved daughter's safety until the day he died. When she first met her new neighbor, Zachariah McGovern, all she saw was danger. But Zach saw much more. He saw beauty, he saw tenderness. He knew he could rescue Kate Blakely from her past - if only she would let him. What Zach couldn't know, however, was the price that had to be paid to save the woman he loved.

Would-be gardening expert Daisy can't believe her luck when her parents announce they're off on a midlife crisis gap year, leaving her in charge of their gorgeous garden, much in need of her expert TLC. And coming just after a break up, some peace and quiet in the countryside is just what she needs. Only, village life turns out to be anything but - with nosey neighbours and greedy developers instantly stirring up trouble. What Daisy really needs is a good friend, or two. So when she comes across Elaine and Jo, she's relieved to have multiple shoulders to cry on. But her new friends are dealing with dramas of their own - a marriage in crisis, a family secret and managing the local gossips. As Daisy wrestles the garden into something like beautiful order, can she get a grip on her new feelings for handsome Irish rogue George and stop her parents selling up to a developer?

Pushing petals is their business. But it's up to one girl to keep things from wilting!Del Bloom and her family are busy preparing flowers for the town's Homecoming festivities. And Del is also preparing to ask her crush, Hamilton, to the big bonfire! But then the Blooms discover that their rival florist, Fleur, has been hired instead of them to make the rose bouquets for the Homecoming parade. Worst of all, the owner of Fleur is Hamilton's mom, so Del can't even confide in him. It's up to Del to come up with a brilliant flower fix, and fast. Will the Blooms be on the winning team?

Rose Ellen Gilhooley didn't get to be a star in Buffalo Bill's Wild West for nothing. Bareback riding and sharp instincts, have taken her worlds away from the small Kansas town where she grew up. If Mr. H.L. May thinks a lack of book-learning makes her an easy mark, he's in for the shock of her life. Trouble is, the more he squires her around the grand Exposition, the more Rose yearns for more.

Myla Rose McGraw may be twenty, single, and pregnant, but she's no damsel in distress. She doesn't need a man. After all, her Grams taught her a thing or two about making lemonade out of life's lemons. Then she meets Cash Carson. Reeling from a bad breakup, Cash has sworn off love. It led to nothing but pain and misery, and he’s determined to move forward alone. Until a redheaded Southern beauty crashes into him. With her shopping cart. At the local Piggly Wiggly. If love wasn't for him, why did his heart beat a little faster every time Myla Rose sent that sweet smile his way? He was no knight, and she didn't need saving. But damn if he didn't want to try anyway. COMING UP ROSES is a sweet, Southern fairy tale—with a twist.