First published 2001
Freda and Brenda clock in each day at an Italian wine bottling factory, their routine punctuated only by the mundane rhythms of industrial work. When their employer announces a company outing, Freda sees opportunity where Brenda sees only dread. The promised day of liberation from factory walls brings anything but relief. As temperatures drop and emotions heat up, the two women find themselves caught in circumstances that spiral beyond their control. What begins as a simple excursion becomes something far more complicated and dangerous. The chill in the air matches the growing tension between hope and fear, ambition and anxiety. When the outing ends, neither woman can return to the safety of their previous existence. The factory floor that once seemed confining now represents a stability they have lost forever.
Genres: literary-fiction, domestic-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Italy
Period: 20th-century
180 pages · Hardcover · Duckworth
Content warnings: anxiety, depression, violence