Longlisted for the 2006 Women's Prize for Fiction
One minute John is the cornerstone of Eva’s world, rock to his two teenage stepdaughters and his own son Theo, the next he is tossed through the air in a traffic accident, and snapped like a twig. His sudden death changes everything. Eva struggles with the terror and desolation of loneliness, and finds herself drawn back to her untrustworthy ex-husband; Emily, the eldest daughter, grapples with her new-found independence and responsibility. Little Theo can only begin to fathom the permanence of his father’s death. But for Daisy, John’s absence opens up a whole world of confusion just at the onset of adolescence and blossoming sexuality. And in steps a man only too willing to take advantage.
