The rain crackled on her waterproof and ran down the gutters, threatening to wash her poster down a drain. She scrambled off the ladder to retrieve it, but another figure, this time in a scarlet waterproof, white jeans and flowery wellies, darted forward and fished it from the gutter before Sam reached it. Sam smiled. A friendly face was just what she needed after her encounter with the prophet of doom.

‘Here you go. I saw Bryony barking at you. Has she been a pain?’ Sam’s friend Chloe handed over the poster. Chloe was a newcomer to Porthmellow, having moved from Surrey the previous autumn after her divorce. Chloe had been an events organiser and still did some freelance work for her former company. Despite her tiny stature, she was a bundle of energy, endlessly brimming with ideas. Sam was convinced she was powered by some kind of nuclear reactor.

‘She had another go at me about the festival and wouldn’t even pass me a poster. She’s obviously in the wrong job. She should be running Alcatraz.’

Chloe’s dark brown eyes shone with amusement. Her black hair was caught in a chic updo that complemented her delicate features. Chloe’s mother had been born in Hong Kong, while her father was Welsh, and her combination of Han Chinese and Celtic genes had literally given her the best of both worlds in terms of looks. Even early in the morning in a Cornish downpour, her make-up was subtle and she looked elegant and unruffled. Sam’s own crinkly russet hair was plastered to her head. She’d dragged on the first thing she’d spotted; her jeans from the bedroom chair, a long-sleeved T-shirt straight from the tumble dryer and her ancient waterproof off the peg in the cottage porch.

In contrast, Chloe was a living, breathing advertisement for the designer boutiques that clustered around the trendier end of Porthmellow harbour. Three had moved in since the food festival had started, along with a prestigious gallery, a stylish homeware shop and a deli. There were only a few units to let now, and even the chip shop had gone more upmarket, offering salads and wraps alongside the cod and saveloys.

It might be a coincidence, but Sam was convinced that the new businesses had been encouraged by all the visitors who flocked to the festival and the town in the summer months. Stargazey Pie had done well too. A couple of years previously, she’d been able to move from her back-street kitchen to a smart catering unit on the edge of town and buy a mobile van that was now a popular fixture for events all over Cornwall with its artisan pies. It was hard work and she might never be rich from it, but she adored being her own boss and making a living from doing something she loved.