Friends since university, with busy working lives now behind them, Dido and Georgia have long been looking forward to books and outings, conversation and carefree days. Alas: life is rarely as one wishes it to be, and both find themselves caught up in wholly unexpected domestic drama. Dido, for the first time, has cause to question her marriage; widowed Georgia is certain her husband will return to her. Meanwhile, an eccentric country cousin goes wildly off the rails, children are unhappy in love, and perfect health is all at once in question. Turning to one another should be as natural as breathing, but with so much at stake even this old friendship comes under strain. As hatches are battened down, and silence falls, it takes all their loyalty and humour to recover the easy confiding intimacy of the past.