Sophia had not thought twice about taking up her friend's offer to move to Oregon to help her run the successful general store she had started some years before when faced with a spinster's lot in life. Levi Kirtman was more than irate at being denied his birthright. When his paternal uncle gave him the ultimatum to find a wife in order to get the deeds to the ranch which should by all rights be his after his father's passing, he dug his heels in and refused. He would live without the ranch rather than be pushed into marrying. Then he met the woman his uncle had in mind after reading her advertisement, and he saw her as a pretty enough solution to his many problems. Can a man cure his greed and addiction through deception and cruelty? Was this the life the Lord had intended for a widow and her young son in a strange town? Would Eli find a loving family to finally call his own?

    In 1976 their dream of owning a peaceful summer retreat came true when they stumbled across this derelict farmhouse surrounded by fields and orchards, and saw what it could become. Over the years there has been the inevitable sadness, but also the joys of new grandchildren, anniversaries, village fetes, and splendid meals taken with their neighbours. And whilst the family has seen many changes in its time, the warm and welcoming atmosphere they first fell in love with has remained the same. Now they face their own personal tragedy, but through all their sorrows Bel-Air continues to be a place of hope and happiness, as well as extraordinary beauty.