How old you can grow in three years! It is only a fraction of time but to Esther Musgrave it seemed longer than all the rest of her life put together. In three years she had become an entirely different person, or so she felt.

Following the death of her beloved husband, Esther believes she will never be happy again. But soon, her “natural buoyancy” and the problems and adventures of her three daughters. difficult, unmarried Delia, cheerful and practical Margaret, and young Kate just out of school, bring her pleasure and purpose anew.

The local Dramatic Club’s troubled new production, the arrival of an attractive widow with a hint of scandal about her, the return of Esther’s long-estranged stepson, and Kate’s perilous rendezvous with a young ne’er-do-well all provide drama, laughter, and joy to the reader as well as to Esther herself.