Thirty-something and newly divorced, Clementine lives in a small Hampshire town, teaching piano and working on a collection of fairy tales left to her by her great aunt Elvira. But mostly she worries. She worries about the rising crime rate. She worries about disease and illness, about offending God, and, in the rare moments when she actually is at peace with Him, about upsetting the man in the carpet store or the woman who runs the local cafe. And then, just when she thinks she has found love with the son of her next-door neighbor, she backs away, convinced that something terrible will happen. Finally, at a moment of real crisis, Clementine sees the destructive quality of fear, and resolves to change and make amends. To do so, she must turn from "Damsel in Distress" to heroine, slay her personal dragon of fears and phobias, and rescue back her own Prince Charming.