Doctor's Orders, Mr. Hale

Dr Rosie Calloway works nights at St Aldric's Hospital in London and talks to every patient as if the sun had just come out. One night the ambulance brings in Theo Hale, chief executive of Hale Northway, four thousand lorries and a temper to match, whose heart stopped for forty-two seconds on stage at his own company's drivers' awards. The next morning he tries to discharge himself for an investor call, and Rosie tells him exactly what that would mean in front of half his executive team. Someone films it. By lunchtime it's everywhere. Then the board learns he has hidden an inherited heart condition for thirteen years. The insurer's terms: ninety days, a doctor living in his house, every pill and every heartbeat on record. He writes down one name: hers. If she quits, his uncle gets his chair. Hale House in Highgate comes with a sharp-tongued American grandmother, an uncle who smuggles pork pies, and a charming cousin. And somewhere in that house is someone who would rather Theo didn't make it to day ninety. Ninety days. One stubborn heart. And a doctor who doesn't know how to give up. This is a work of fiction; its people, companies, hospital and events are invented. The medical, insurance and corporate details are simplified for the story and are not medical advice.