Set in Kansas, this is a love story between John Wilde, a serious and straightforward married physicist, and Sarah Bryden, 29, who has never left the small town of Bazaar. John and his wife, Susan, have adopted a young boy, Will, who is sickly and hard to look after. Susan has never felt she would be a good mother and so it proves - and eventually her call for help before she loses her sanity and does something awful to poor little Will, is answered. Sarah , who has already discovered she is attracted to John, gets on well with Will and looks after him after Susan has a car accident. But Sarah will not ruin a marriage. John has fewer qualms and wants to give in to his desire - and love - for Sarah.