Sydneysider Abbey Parker, 42, arrives on an idyllic island resort in the Maldives. Her marriage is over, it's her first holiday alone, and an identity crisis is looming. Her solution? A complimentary bottle of champagne and a swim in the Indian Ocean.
Staying in the room next door is brooding Londoner Nick Northby, 41. He's on his annual holiday, avoiding the sun, the glare and people - but he can't avoid having to rescue a tipsy, half-naked woman from drowning.
Their chemistry is immediate and undeniable. And with a mysteriously invested resort worker playing cupid, a holiday fling is inevitable.
Abbey returns home changed, but still struggling to assert herself among her all-female family of powerhouse personalities. Meanwhile, changes are also occurring at her work. Delacqua Hotels has new English owners and her role as Executive Assistant to the CEO becomes extremely awkward - her new boss is none other than her former holiday flame, Nick Northby.
Boss Nick is very different from Holiday Nick - and it isn't just the bespoke suits. He's all business and boundaries. As Abbey finds her voice and opens her heart, Nick sheds his layers reluctantly. She discovers a guarded and damaged man, who manages his heart like a high-risk venture.
Nick is determined not to fall for her. So why does he keep creeping past the line they drew in the white Maldivian sand, marking the end of their affair?
If they're going to have a future together, they'll need to decide whether their self-imposed boundaries are a strength or a weakness - and if falling in love is worth the risk.
The Last Resort is a warm, sophisticated, funny and poignant novel about two people reluctantly falling in love and trying to find hope when the realities of middle age have overtaken the optimism of youth.
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