Life can shatter in a moment. Then you must pick up the pieces.Three people are trying to live decent lives as most of us do, most of the time. Julia is a brilliant and beautiful lawyer. Yet despite her glamour and worldly success, the poverty and meanness of her childhood never feels far away. Her husband, Phillip, has built a career in advertising that has brought the couple wealth and status. But Phillip is restless. When he decides he wants to 'give something back' and quits his career to do good works, their relationship is thrown off kilter.Then Phillip meets Laura, a single mother of twins. So much less beautiful than Julia, so disorganised and unkempt, and yet she shares many of his concerns - concerns that have no place in Julia's scheme of things. With a host of strong supporting characters involving three generations, this rich and surprising story grips from first page to last as it explores the moral and emotional complexities of modern life.