High-powered London doctor Ellie Mills has to travel home to Ireland suddenly when her father has a stroke. James Killern, their neighbor, tells himself he has no interest in this buttoned-up career woman who can’t seem to ever relax. This antipathy though doesn’t explain why he keeps finding himself looking for ways to spend time with her.
Severity reflects intensity, not value — “central theme” means a warning is a core part of the book, not that the book is bad.