Lara Everett is a sensitive, childless widow of twenty years. She is settled, has buried her childhood dreams, is financially solvent and addicted to being alone. She would not call herself depressed, just unhappy. However, in her forty-third year, fate allows William (Bill) Lee, a shrewd and resourceful man, a man entirely unsuitable for any woman, to cross her threshold and take hold of her heart. Hypnotised by his sheer physical presence, Lara has no choice but to take the hardest path and realise that it is not the superficial fleshly oddities that are important but something far more formidable and ultimately satisfying. Set in 1969 and with memories going back to World War Two, The Bitter Rose and the Thorn is a narrative account of a woman choosing to abandon her catastrophic past and move towards a more self-fulfilling life.