Suddenly One Summer

Brianna Donahue has lived on Jacaranda Springs all of her life and has long been her father, Russell's, right-hand woman. So when Russell marries Angie Fairhead, one of the most well-known and influential women in the shire of Braxton, Brianna is horrified. She sees Angie as a fake, stuck-up 'acre-chaser.' Angie makes no secret of her belief that working on farms isn't the right occupation for a woman. And as the months go by she slowly undermines Brianna over the work she does on Jacaranda Springs and the way she brings up her children. Brianna is still reeling from the discovery her husband has been drinking and womanizing when the tension between her and Angie reaches boiling point and Angie forces Russell to choose between her and his daughter. He chooses Angie. Having lost not only her husband, but her father and the farm she has worked so hard on and loved for so long, Brianna is devastated. Holding close to her two children, Brianna moves into the town of Braxton. Trying to make the best of a worsening situation, she sets up a small contracting business helping farmers out and eventually saves enough money to make a deposit on a small block where she can run a few sheep. After moving to the block Brianna has to juggle long days and her two children as well as bewilderment that Angie is going to such lengths to badmouth her and grief that her father has turned against her. From afar, the Farm Merchandise Store manager, Jay Burns, has noticed Brianna's plight and befriends her. Initially Brianna is wary but eventually she realises his companionship and conversation are keeping her going amidst all the turmoil in her life.It's only when Angie and Brianna's ex-husband join forces and make claims Brianna isn't who her birth certificate says she is that Brianna begins to understand what's been going on...