Life was too short to worry about whether people liked her or not. Dr. Elizabeth Wright is proud of her effective administration of the Grants Office at the small university where she has worked for the past 20 years. Single and 50, she finds her quiet, reclusive life satisfying enough. When she hires young Elizabeth MacKenzie, she gains not only a trustworthy and capable assistant, but an unlikely friend. If only other people hadn't interfered... As their relationship evolves, Elizabeth learns, perhaps too late, the kinds of compromises that lasting relationships demand.