First published 2012
Charlotte never expected a street mugging would change so many lives. When the attack leaves her with a broken hip, her daughter Rose must stay home to care for her instead of traveling to Manchester with her employer, Lord Peters. This forces Peters to bring his niece Marion on the business trip instead. Marion uses the opportunity to send a secret message to her lover, but his wife discovers the text. What begins as a single act of violence ripples outward, fracturing some marriages while healing others. New opportunities emerge as old ones vanish. Strangers who might never have crossed paths find themselves drawn together. Each person caught in this expanding web of consequences must navigate unexpected changes that will reshape their futures. Lively traces how one random moment can redirect entire lives in ways both devastating and redemptive.
Genres: literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, ripple-effect
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
229 pages · Hardcover · Viking