Groundsman’s Cottage

A NOVEL OF OLD VOWS AND NEW DESIRES

Available in October 2026

After losing her mother and her job in the same year, 62-year-old Zoe Sutcliffe buys an old cottage in a rural West Sussex hamlet, intending to grow her own food and live a solitary life. When no one wants to lease the commercial kitchen space at the cottage, and running out of money, Zoe decides to open a field-to-fork restaurant herself. 

One evening, Jack Dawson sits down to dinner, and Zoe and Jack, sharing a love of food and wine, begin an affair, with the restaurant taking on a central role in their relationship as they work together to nurture the business.

At home in Berkshire, Susan, Jack's wife of 30 years, is struggling to find purpose in retirement while trying to understand her husband's puzzling behavior. On a whim, she reaches out to the only other man she has ever loved, someone she has not spoken to in over 30 years, Giovanni Albini, an Italian wine-maker.

Set against the backdrop of a unique vintage-modern restaurant, Groundsman's Cottage, this is a story of first loves and second chances, of women and men in their 60s adapting to changing circumstances, new opportunities, and managing expectations. Available in paperback, e-book, and audiobook.