Milkmaids, Meadows, Boys Called Peter: A Pseudo-Fairy Tale Set in a World of Science rather than Magic

A young scientist's objectivity is put to the test by a handsome stranger and a virulent pathogen.

Six months into a two-year fellowship in Boston, Alice's research is not going well and she is concerned. Aside from having potentially momentous implications for autoimmune disease, her elusive results would guarantee a conditional promotion in London when she returns--and also, perhaps, finally secure the respect and affection of her old flame, Ben.

Still half-believing in fairy tales, she is thrown off-balance by a seemingly magical first encounter with Peter that goes wrong the moment she speaks. He is gone before she can apologize. When she sees him next, he is in close contact with a woman she can't stand. Angry and humiliated, she takes ill-fated solace in the arms of another man.

Ignoring Peter's persistent overtures of friendship, Alice's plummeting self-esteem is offset by the sudden materialization of not only work-place success, but also an unexpected visit from an overtly seductive Ben. However, her visceral response to these supposedly positive developments propels her on a journey of self-discovery that, as well as re-configuring her world view, becomes intimately entwined with the insidious symptoms of a life-threatening virus contracted meanwhile by Peter.