In this extraordinary collection of stories, the <i>New York Times</i>-bestselling author of <i>Evening Class</i> and <i>This Year It Will Be Different</i> once again reveals her incomparable understanding of matters of the heart. In <i>The Return Journey,</i> Maeve Binchy brings us sons and lovers, daughters and strangers, husbands and wives in their infinite variety--powerfully compelling stories of love, loss, revelation, and reconciliation.<br><br>A secretary's silent passion for her boss meets the acid test on a business trip....A man and a woman's mutual disdain at first sight shows how deceptive appearances can be....An insecure wife clings to the illusion of order, only to discover chaos at the hands of a house sitter who opens the wrong doors....A pair of star-crossed travelers take each other's bags, and then learn that when you unlock a stranger's suitcase, you enter a stranger's life. In their company are many more, whose poignant, ironic, often humorous stories--unforgettable slices of life--make up <i>The Return Journey,</i> a spellbinding trip into the human heart.<br><br><br>Maeve Binchy was born and educated in Dublin. She is the author of the bestselling books <i>Evening Class, This Year It Will Be Different, The Glass Lake, The Copper Beech, The Lilac Bus, Circle of Friends, Silver Wedding, Firefly Summer, Echoes, Light a Penny Candle,</i> and <i>London Transports,</i> three volumes of short stories, two plays, and a teleplay that won three awards at the Prague Film Festival. She has been writing for <i>The Irish Times</i> since 1969 and lives with her husband, Gordon Snell, in Dublin.<br><br><br><i>From the Hardcover edition.</i>