First there are shades of sorrow, then shades of hope. Will Gwen find shades of light?

When her only child leaves home for college, widowed Gwen Sullivan discovers just how lonely an "empty nest" can be. How will she adjust and fill her empty days?

At the urging of friends, Gwen takes a job with an interior designer--whom she soon discovers to be domineering and jealous of Gwen's creativity. Suddenly she's stuck doing menial tasks. When a sleazy client starts to harass her, Gwen begins to wonder if she's cut out for the working world.

She eventually meets Oliver Black, who gives her an opportunity to use her decorating skills, and suddenly Gwen sees herself in a more confident light. But Oliver is a man of many secrets, and Gwen wonders if she can trust her heart to him.