"Ash Winters was once the golden boy of the English literary scene, but mental illness has dragged him into a cycle of self-destruction. A chance meeting with brassy Essex-born Darian Taylor may be the first step Ash needs to rebuild his life-if he's able to let go of the class prejudice and dangerous negative self-image that threatens to drown them both"--

"Quietly heartbroken, Edwin Tully lives alone in the house he used to share with the man he once loved. He tends to damaged books and faded memories, trying to build a future from the fragments of the past. Then the weather turns, and the river spills into Edwin's quiet world, bringing with it Adam Dacre from the Environment Agency. An unlikely knight, this stranger with roughened hands and worn wellingtons offers Edwin the hope of something he thought...