This is the story of Tony and Beatrice Porter's renovation of the near-derelict and long forgotten Art Deco hotel on Burgh Island, after giving up their successful careers as fashion consultants in London's West End. Up to their necks in debt and with a massive programme of repairs and maintenance ahead of them, they gradually laboured to restore it to its former glory and into the beautiful, luxurious place it is today. The book is also a story of the island itself. Originally the site of a medieval monastery, it has been a notorious smugglers' paradise, and the rich and famous have been holidaying there since the hotel's inception in 1929.