Roger Mendelson has written a story about real love. It's not about "true love", a concept which is over romanticised in a thousand ways every day, but instead tells of the deliciously slow way that friendship and then passion can creep into a meeting of acquaintances. Steven is a marketing consultant, a career driven professional who is assigned to investigate the declining profits of an established chain of Christian op-shops. Frances is the retail director of the chain, and their first encounters are pure business. As they work more closely together, Steven and Frances get to know more about one another's personal lives, and their differences in background, religion and lifestyle spark many hours of intriguing conversation. The story is very slow paced, which allows you to witness the small concessions made by each character as they become more involved. After all, this is the way life and love happens. A solid friendship is formed through many revealing phone conversations, and the lust and love develops at a leisurely enough pace that you have plenty of time to really feel the tension that crackles between the characters. Steven is a married family man, yet every step of his falling for Frances is so clear to see that you can empathise with, if not condone his adultery. Steven and Frances are from differing faiths, and the concept of religion and spirituality lends an interesting perspective to the blossoming relationship. That doesn't stop them from engaging in some very passionate lovemaking. The ending is surprising and it’s nice to see that the author didn’t take the easy way out.