Book excerpt: Trouble arrives early and often for Jo, the new Hospitality Manager at the Santa Barbara Hotel. Shortly after starting, she faces assault, gets reluctantly deputized by police to bust a money laundering ring, and earns local fame pulling vital documents from a crashed plane. Jo handles the nonstop chaos with aplomb while navigating a troublesome relationship with the pompous head waiter and kindling a new romance with Bob. But just as things seem to stabilize, Bob drops a bombshell: he’s been temporarily reassigned to manage another hotel in Cape Town. Everyone suspects longer than a few months, leaving Jo’s professional and personal lives in flux once more. Can she continue excelling through turmoil at the Santa Barbara without her right-hand man? Jo primed herself for anything but this. The trials never cease for the hotel’s beleaguered-yet-brilliant new hospitality manager.