Valentine #7 January 1961

Betty Spinks dreads the annual New Year’s party at her office—endless speeches, Mr. Lucas’s recitation, Mr. Parfitt’s card tricks, and worst of all, Mr. Hodgkins waiting by the door for his traditional kiss. Determined to put an end to it, she vows she’ll crown him if he dares to kiss her again. But when Mr. Hodgkins is absent, his young assistant steps in—and suddenly, the party doesn’t seem so dull after all.

Joy’s flight to Brazil takes a sudden turn when she and David are jailed by Muba revolutionaries who believe they’re married. With her father’s identity a lie and the passengers moved to a hotel, Joy finds herself helping a hidden girl who claims she’s been chosen to wed General Gaspacho.

Alison, the Terminus Hotel’s receptionist, finds her quiet crush on her boss, Grant Steele, upended when he announces he’s been offered a new position in Bermuda—until he asks her to join him as assistant manager. Meanwhile, Jake, the hotel’s house detective, is called to the emergency landing of the Starjet airliner, now diverted back to New York due to electrical trouble in the fog.

In a quiet rebellion against her father, the American ambassador, Midget Harkness takes a job dancing at Club Arturo, determined to make a statement by proving she can stand on her own—no matter the cost to her reputation. With Honor Eden watching from the sidelines and Barry Giles caught in the middle, the spotlight shines on a young woman who’s not afraid to challenge expectations, even if it means dancing in the shadows of a world she’s been told to avoid.

Jean’s hopes for a film break are derailed when a burst pipe floods her flat, forcing her to mop up while missing her audition. After a grueling day scrubbing floors for a Peppo pill commercial—only to be made to look worse than ever—she returns home to find her flat underwater. When she finally gets a moment to breathe, she’s surprised to be asked out by the maintenance man, Nigel Trent, who’s been quietly watching over her.