‘This book, about deep and complex family love from this accomplished author, is told with true passion’ Family Circle

The Harrison family, gathering for Christmas at their big country house, inhabit a tight safe world of privilege and tradition. But this year, time is catching up with the elderly Pamela and John, while troubles are brewing in the lives of their four children: Cassie, the cosseted youngest, is in the throes of a secret affair with a married man, while awkward Elizabeth struggles with a faltering second marriage. Peter, who will inherit Ashley House, is beginning to meet resistance to the idea from his career-orientated wife, Helen.

Only carefree Charlie and his wife, Serena, seem truly content, with nothing to vex them but their adolescent twin girls and the simpler teething troubles of their toddler. But tragedy, of the most unforeseeable and devastating kind, is lying in wait. The family, so apparently secure, is rocked to its core. Hidden turmoil, secrets past and present, are forced to the surface, laying bare the fragility of human happiness and the myriad faces of love in an imperfect world.

‘There should have been a trumpet fanfare when this book was launched, for Amanda Brookfield is, surely, the queen of the relationship novel. I have read (and enjoyed) all her previous books but this one is - in my opinion - the best. It is the story of how apparently even secure relationships can fall apart. Is there a happy ending? I'm not going to spoil your enjoyment by saying another thing. Just buy and read and enjoy this splendid book.’

‘I savoured every second of this deeply satisfying book. Amanda Brookfield goes from strength to strength’Patricia Scanlon

‘Few contemporary British novelists writing today explore the messy tangles of close human relationships with quite such warm perceptiveness as Brookfield’ Daily Mirror

‘What is refreshing here is the author’s conspicuous sanity and her sharp line in defence of reason… It could be sentimental, but it isn’t.’ Guardian

‘Penetrating insights into the ordinary female condition’ Woman's Own