Maria

In the early 1920s, Japanese college professor Masao Takashimaya of Kyoto had a passion for modern ideas that was as strong as his wife's belief in ancient tradition. Twenty years later, his 18-year-old daughter Hiroko, torn between her mother's traditions and her father's wishes, boarded SS Nagoya Maru to come to California for an education, and to make her father proud. It was August 1941.

Life was good for Liz and Jack Sutherland. In eighteen years of marriage, they had built a family, a successful law practice, and a warm, happy home near San Francisco, in a house on Hope Street. Then, in an instant, it all fell apart. It began like any other Christmas morning, with joy and children's laughter. But for Jack Sutherland, a five-minute errand ends in tragedy. And suddenly, Liz is alone, facing painful questions in the wake of an unbearable loss.

As editor-in-chief of New York's leading fashion magazine, Fiona Monaghan was utterly content with her life, jetting back and forth between Manhattan and Europe, until the sweltering day John Anderson strolled into her office.

In her 57th best-selling novel, Danielle Steel brilliantly chronicles the roller-coaster ride of dating the second time around - and tells a captivating story of the surprises one woman encounters when she's thrust into the terrifying, exhilarating world of the dating game.