<p><b>''[Gervase Phinn is] a worthy successor to James Herriot, and every bit as endearing.'' - bestselling author Alan Titchmarsh</b><br><b><br>''A shining light in our dark days'' - 5 STAR reader review</b><br><br>After an eventful start to his first ever teaching post in the sleepy village of Risingdale, Tom Dwyer is hoping for a bit of calm. Nursing a broken heart after a romantic disappointment, he just wants to keep his head down and get on with his job.<br><br> But it is not to be. A beautiful London artist sets tongues wagging when she moves into the village, and her precocious yet frail son is in Tom''s class. On top of that, his colleague''s malicious ex-husband is back, determined to create mischief, and a tragedy on one of the winding country roads sends the village reeling. And all this alongside a class of children who still seem to know more about farming than fractions.<br><br><b>With its colourful mix of characters both old and new and its many laugh-out-loud moments,