The residents of Edgewood and Pleasant Valley have always known Rose Wiley and Stephen Waterman were made for each other. Stephen's considered the catch of the town—strong, handsome, educated, and dependable—and he's never had eyes for anyone but Rose. But life on a farm in a small village is busy and repetitive, and to Rose, quite monotonous and stifling. She longs for excitement and adventure, and can't help but feel she's missing out on a bigger world out there on the other side of the Saco.
Her restlessness grows when a handsome, refined stranger from Boston comes to town and fills Rose's head with compliments and ideas, and the possibility of a new life in the big city. Rose makes a fateful decision that breaks Stephen's heart and sets all the tongues in town a-wagging. But Rose soon discovers life's not always greener on the other side, and that what she really wanted had been right in front of her all along. But will Stephen—and the rest of the town—forgive her for breaking his heart? Will Rose's plans to win him back succeed before it's too late?
With its beautiful descriptions, colorful characters, and sprinkling of humor, Rose O' the River is a tender homage to a simpler, sweeter way of life, and at its heart is a love story as moving and timeless as the river itself.
