Dr Tess Carter is no starry-eyed heroine. After all, if your dad left without a backward glance you wouldn't believe in romance either. And the voices in Tess's head - you know, the ones that tell you you're not good enough, not pretty enough, not clever enough - well, these voices are very loud. Very loud indeed. Especially when the disagreeable son of one of her patients starts challenging her every decision.

Edward Russell might have a big job and a posh voice, but Tess is determined not to let him get to her. And Edward, it turns out, may be less of a grump than he first appears...

In the real world, where gentlemanlike manners and out-of-the-blue declarations of love are a story-book fantasy, it's up to Tess to decide whose voice to listen to ... and how to make her own heard.