A young country girl comes to live and work in Dublin. Jo is determined to be modern and independent, and to have a wonderful time. But life in a big city is full of strange surprises for a shy country girl...

Gerry Moore is a man with a problem - alcohol. He knows he must give it up, and his family and friends watch nervously as he battles against it. But drink is a hard enemy to fight...

These stories by the Irish writer Maeve Binchy are full of affectinate humour and wit, and sometimes a little sadness.

The Oxford bookworms library offers a wide range of original and adapted stories, both classic and modern, which take learners from elementary to advanced level through six carefully graded language stages:

Stage 1 (400 headwords)

Stage 2 (700 headwords)

Stage 3 (1000 headwords)

Stage 4 (1400 headwords)

Stage 5 (1800 headwords)

Stage 6 (2500 headwords)

This book is at stage 6.

At the end of the book, it supplies questions to help you check your comprehension after reading these short stories.