A hot summer's day, a crowded motorway, a split second that changed a group of people's lives forever. Jonathan, the successful, charismatic surgeon returning from a liaison with his mistress Abi. His wife thinks he's somewhere else... Georgia, the young actress desperate to get to London for an audition for the part that could make her career; and Linda, her agent, dynamic, ambitious - but lonely, and with a failed marriage behind her.

Toby, the bridegroom with a dark secret on the way to his wedding, with his loyal best friend Barney. Mary, travelling to the airport to meet her first love, whom she hasn't seen in over fifty years; William, the farmer who watches the drama unfold across the hill; and Emma, the engaging young surgeon at the nearest hospital. One heartbeat in time, and all their lives will be totally transformed.

But is it for the worst, or can it be for the best? In the tense, dramatic fall-out, mysteries are created, lives are torn apart, love affairs ended - and ignited. In the aftermath of the crash, urgent questions must be answered: Who was to blame? Who was the girl seen running away from the site of the accident? And can there be any escape from the relentless power of fate? Absorbing, exciting, and emotionally charged, The Best of Times is Penny Vincenzi at her most compelling.