It's early May in the small English village of Finch and the air is crackling with excitement: a newcomer is about to move into Pussywillows, a riverside cottage with a romantic reputation. Will the cottage's newest resident prove yet again its enchanting ability to matchmake? But when Crispin Windle arrives, no one knows what to make of him: seemingly a loner, he repels every welcoming gesture and appears altogether uninterested in being a part of the community. Soon, the townspeople have all but dismissed him.

Only Lori and Tommy Prescott, a young army veteran who recently moved to Finch, refuse to give up. They orchestrate a chance meeting that leads to a startling discovery: the remains of a Victorian woolen mill that once brought prosperity to Finch. But it also contains a dark secret about Finch's past. Will Mr. Windle make himself an outcast for good by digging up Finch's history? Or will he offer the town a chance to heal--and finally allow the town to help him heal, too?