Seeking some much-needed rest and relaxation after a long stint as a TV-news war correspondent in Bosnia, 33-year-old Bill Fitzgerald travels to Venice. There he is struck by the dark beauty of a young American woman, Vanessa Stewart, a 27-year-old glass designer from New York. Unhappily married, she welcomes a no-strings friendship with Bill. Soon they embark on an illicit affair and find themselves desperately in love. They vow to see each other whenever and wherever they can. But on their third meeting, one of them does not show up.<P> Once again, Barbara Taylor Bradford weaves a love story of uncompromising ardor, this time taking readers through secret trysts in Venice, Manhattan and Southampton. In <I>A Secret Affair,</I> she touches on subjects that will stir the hearts and minds of her readers -- unconditional love and devotion, loyalty and loss.