Rosamunde Pilcher: Headline Love

Laura Seal, a self-employed gardener, has just set up a community garden as the youngest member of the local council when her father, Francis Seal (61), the mayor of the community, unexpectedly suffers a heart attack. Francis, who is simultaneously burdened by marital problems, fights tooth and nail to temporarily relinquish office in order to spare himself. For the most important project in decades, the modernisation of the ailing harbour, is about to be signed. The municipal council has to force Francis and elects his daughter to office. So the politically inexperienced Laura is thrown in at the deep end and becomes mayor of the municipality.

At the same time, Robert “Bob” Spencer, an aspiring journalist in London has fallen on his face with his scoop. Publisher Lady Hennessy, a powerful aristocrat, wants him out of the firing line and offers him the job of editor-in-chief of a local paper, the Village Chronicle. Bob, who actually thinks he’s too good to be provincial, has no choice and sets off for Cornwall where he meets Laura – there’s an instant spark between them. As Laura has to hold her own in the shark tank of local politics and Bob has to fill the local newspaper with two staff members, he writes a portrait of the young mayoress. While the two spend romantic hours together in this way and Laura makes sure that the PR effect secures the harbour construction, the ambitious Bob’s article, however, turns out rather distant to critical. Laura feels exploited and is bitterly disappointed. The harbour development falters, her father’s life’s work threatens to fail. When anonymous photos of the old mayor’s illegal dealings start flooding into the publishing house, Bob is conflicted. Laura also seems to be involved. Although Bob holds back his research accordingly, the article is published by his very ambitious volunteer at exactly the moment when Laura has forgiven Bob – and seduces him for the first time. The article not only causes a stir in the village, but also leads to another heart attack for Francis. Laura, who only wanted to protect her ailing father, is damaged in reputation. The harbour project threatens to fail once and for all, and love is also threatened. But every defeat always offers a chance to learn from one’s mistakes and to grow beyond oneself…