A Woman's Heart

Imagine sitting in a Irish pub on a rainy night, nursing a pint of Guinness while a good storyteller recounts again an often told story of love and redemption. You may have heard it before, but there's a reason it's a favorite. Quinn Gallagher is a storyteller himself, on location in Castlelough for the filming of his novel about the Irish town's famed lake monster. The survivor of an abusive childhood, Quinn is a rootless cynic who views life from a distance, ""as if through a plate-glass window,"" until widow Nora Fitzpatrick and her eccentric family worm their way into his heart and help him come to terms with his past. Neither the plot nor the characters offer anything new, but Ross (No Regrets) brings an immediacy to her narrative that makes this old story worthwhile. Agent: Damaris Rowland. (July)