I turned off the busy highway into the rest area with its thicket of shade trees that offered respite from the hot sun. A few campers were parked under the trees, and children played on the swings and slides. From the stone fireplaces rose the aroma of grilled hamburgers, and I realized that I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. It was nearly four o’clock, and I had been driving north for hours.

The scenic route along the Hudson River with the brooding Catskill Mountains in the background had been pleasant, but now I had reached the flat farmland of central New York, and the traveling had become monotonous.

I put my head back on the headrest and closed my eyes. In less than two hours, I should reach Elm Forks on the St. Lawrence River, where Dr. Tate said I could catch the car ferry to Cory Island. I would spend the next eight weeks at Camp Shandelee as camp nurse for overweight adolescent girls.

As the office nurse to prominent doctors Kosta Karadakis and Phillip Fanning, Vicki Crawford came in contact with many of the wealthy and important people in San Francisco’s high society. But if it were not for her Aunt Twila, Vicki would leave her profitable job and return to her first love — hospital-duty nursing.

So far, this was impossible. Twila had taken Vicki in and given her a home when she was orphaned at the age of nine, and it was Twila who had paid her way through nurses’ training. The debt had to be repaid, and Twila was the type of woman who did not hesitate to keep Vicki “in bondage.” What was even worse was that Twila had an investment in a gambling club, and if the social-minded Kosta ever discovered that he was courting someone whose aunt was involved in anything illegal, there would be more to pay than just a debt.

Vicki lived in an apartment in Alameda, across the bay, and when her car stalled on her one day, she met a man named Ron Newcomb — who turned out to be a resident with the county hospital. Their friendship grew, and Vicki kept shifting her interest between Kosta and Ron — until Ron became outspokenly critical of her working for a pair of society doctors whom he viewed with scorn.

Mrs. Dean skillfully blends intrigue and romance in this moving story of a young nurse who finds herself in conflict with her ideals.

The assignment that reporter Sam Reynolds had been given seemed easy enough: find out about Dr. David Mackenzie; find out what gave him his own special brand of faith. And so San left Portland for the small towns around LaGrande, to discover new people and a way of life he had never known existed.

Lovely Amber Mackenzie, a nurse, had been alone since her father’s death. But she was carrying on with the work he had begun — the small Crossroads Clinic was still open; Amber still journeyed into the canyons and mountains to help people in need. Amber’s gentle ways earned her the love of all who knew her and believed in her father’s ideals, and Sam quickly fell under he spell.

But what were these ideals? What made Amber so different from the people Sam had known before? Was it that she truly cared for others, above herself, and was willing to dedicate herself to their care? Was it that she reveled in life and saw beauty and goodness in all things?

Sam’s assignment to learn about Dr. Mackenzie turned into something more, as the young man decided to learn about himself, too. And Sam’s presence caused Amber some serious thinking, also. Although she had known and loved Dr. Robert Meacham for years, she felt unsure of herself, unready for marriage. Perhaps with Sam…

The offer attractive Shelley Talmadge, a private-duty nurse who was between jobs, received from her best friend, Eleanora Crawford, was too good to pass up: The girls could spend the summer at a resort on St. John owned by Katherine Crawford, Eleanora’s grandmother. In return, they would have some light duties — Shelley’s included being the resident nurse. She welcomed the time away from handsome Winston Crawford, Eleanora’s brother, who had been pressing her to marry him. Although she thought she loved him, she wasn’t sure she wanted to give up her nursing career for marriage.

For Eleanora, a flighty girl who could fall in and out of love within the hour, the trip was a romantic adventure — handsome men, including her adopted uncle, Stephen, Marcello, the gourmet chef, and Brent Howard, a sportsman; swaying palms; warm breezes…

Shelley too was affected by the atmosphere. Life could be so pleasant there on the secluded beaches, in the shady coves.

For the young nurse, the summer was one of maturation, of growing to know herself and her goals in life. But she didn’t miss out on fun and romance as she discovered the path her life was to take.

After Molly Patterson was jilted, she was determined never to trust a man again. But she was a very attractive girl, and more than one man was anxious to make her change her mind.

Was Molly going to be able to stick to her decision?