The only thing certain in life is change.

When Jo came home from university she found that her once thriving home town was dying. None of the people who had raised her had the heart to turn it around. With her fresh new business degree it was obvious that she had to be the one. But how could she? How could she even begin to turn all those relationships, with all of those people, upside down?

Folkstown used to be on everybody's map (everybody who was travelling through New Zealand's central south to Queenstown that is). It was where they stopped for lunch, for a coffee, to use the loos. But not anymore. Now everybody's sat-nav took them around the town. A few seconds faster, a few metres shorter, and the town, to all intents and purposes, had disappeared.

Bringing it back to life was going to be no easy task, but Jo couldn't let go so easily. It was her home. There had to be something she could do. In the end, it's Jo's father who gives her the idea, with his love of nature and his passion for Slow Cooking. What if they turned Folkstown into a Slow Town, and attracted tourists for more than just a half hour and a bite to eat? What if they could get them to come and stay, and spend some real money?

Of course, the idea is just the start - doing it is something else - but with determination, persuasion and a big dose of stubbornness, she gets the rest of the town moving; and in amongst it all, finds herself unexpectedly and irresistibly in love.

Follow Jo's journey

It's a journey that takes her beyond herself, beyond everything she knows, beyond the lingering wisps of her childhood, and turns her into the inspiring young woman she is destined to become. You'll be glad you came along for the ride!