Love has finally come full circle for Dr. Fingal O'Reilly and his reclaimed sweetheart, nurse Kitty O'Hallorhan. Finally willing to give up his bachelor existence, Fingal has declared his love for Kitty and is preparing for their upcoming nuptials. Unfortunately, the path to love is not smooth in Ballybucklebo...rather, it's strewn with large boulders that threaten the peace of life at Number One Main Street. The world begins unraveling when Fingal's longtime housekeeper, Kinky Kincaid, is laid low by a sudden disease requiring immediate surgery and prolonged recuperation. With her absence from the house and her growing fears of being usurped by the incumbent Mrs. O'Reilly, the two doctors must struggle along with their practice while trying to reassure Kinky of her importance to their lives. As country practitioners, they treat not only the physical ailments of the inhabitants of their close-knit community but also the social ones. Lost jobs, threatened ferrets, scholarship applications for (gasp) female medical students and house purchases are all issues faced by the two men who have become so enmeshed in village life. Barry, looking forward to his stint in the teaching hospital to learn the intricacies of obstetrics and gynecology, is slowly becoming aware of how much he'll miss the community that has taken him under its wing and the great man that has become his friend. And, as he enviously observes Fingal's promise of marital bliss, he struggles with his own personal failures in the romance department. Will a new chance at love be all that he's been looking for? Or will the bitter politics of a torn Ireland get in the way?Brimming with humor and heart and enriched by a wealth of historical, literary and medical trivia, this book lives up to Taylor's established reputation as a masterful storyteller. It is the perfect addition to an already wonderful series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. My favorite parts were probably the triumph of the two doctors over the schemes of councilman Bertie Bishop and the willingness of the author to touch on such tender topics as the acceptance of women in medicine and Irish politics. As a physician I also appreciate his skill in discussing serious and often complex medical issues in a way that's easy for any non-medical reader to comprehend. He makes medicine accessible to everyone, as he does with the Irish culture as well. Having finished it in just a few sittings, the book left me , once again, looking forward eagerly to the next installment (and maybe a further glimpse into Fingal's most interesting past.)