The chemistry was explosive?

Annabel's brilliant friend Charlie was a bit of a mad scientist. And although the first explosion he caused at Jerrard's lab in Norfolk had been a minor affair, this last one threatened to get him sacked.

Sam Jerrard refused to listen to reason. He resented Annabel's impassioned plea on Charlie's behalf and misinterpreted it, too, in more ways than one.

So Annabel stowed away in Sam's car to get him alone and have one last go at persuading him to change his mind. Then the chemical mix became truly volatile!

Could love bridge the gap between them?

Caroline refused to let her wealthy father force her into an arranged marriage. To escape his tyranny, she fled to a mountain valley in Spain.

Instead of the old childhood nurse she expected to find there, she met Pio Viroda. The rebellious son of a poor revolutionary, and an artist, Pio's political cartoons had made him an enemy of the establishment world to which Caroline belonged.

The only interest she shared with Pio was her need for personal freedom. But when he drew her into his arms and kissed her, she ceased to care about the differences that divided them... .

To Stephen Brandon, Julia was no more than Miss Watson, his unflappable, highly - efficient secretary. A dowdy woman wearing unfashionable clothes, sensible shoes and spectacles, he would have described her, if he'd considered the matter at all.

But he was to discover that appearances can be deceptive and that there was a totally unexpected side to Julia .. .