Recently divorced and reeling from the tragic loss of her mother to cancer, the youthful and beautiful Jessica Slater decides to exchange her life as a Northern Virginia educator for something more enticing in Southern California-a Sabbatical in the Sun. There, she is hired to housesit the showcase home of George and Lydia Papas whose import-export business has taken them out of the country. Jessica also enrolls for graduate courses at USC where she meets John Martin, a university administrator who orchestrates their seemingly chance encounter and subsequently dates her in order to gain access to the Papas home. Unknown to Jessica, a coin-a valuable heirloom of a prominent Greek family-is thought to have been smuggled out of Greece and into the home she's housesitting. The reasons for John's actions become clear later, but as events unfold, Jessica and John draw closer and eventually become lovers. On spring break, Jessica and John celebrate Easter in Greece as guests of John's friend, Denis Angelides and his family. But then everything falls apart as Jessica learns she's been brought to Greece as a pawn in a scheme to recover the coin belonging to the Angelides family that Denis believes was smuggled out of the country by his brother Alex and into the home of George and Lydia Papas. Worse, she finds the entire relationship with John has been built on lies and deceit. Denis does recover a coin, but it turns out to be a fake. His betrayal by someone at home or in Los Angeles sets in motion events in which Jessica plays a major role and almost costs her life. Meanwhile, she must contend with the continuing presence of her ex-husband whose obsession with her turns ugly, and with Bill Warner, the man who hired her to housesit. A truly devious person, Warner appears throughout in ever-changing guises that reveal him in an increasingly sinister light. The intrigue that follows is filled with the consequences of selfishness and greed-but this sabbatical also shines a light on love and relationships that fall short of perfection...smothered in forgiveness.