This classic family saga is twice as long as anything Amanda Brookfield has written before. It opens at Christmas. The Harrison family has gathered to celebrate at Ashley House, their huge Victorian home. On the surface all is rosy, but trouble is brewing. Mother and father, Pamela and John, know they're getting old. The oldest of their four children, Peter, is supposed to inherit the family home but his career-oriented wife has other plans. Their first daughter, Elizabeth, is struggling to hold her second marriage together, and spoiled second daughter Cassie is having an affair with a married man. Only younger son Charlie and his wife, Serena, seem happy, with nothing more to worry about than their adolescent twin girls and their toddler's teething. The story unfolds month by month through the course of a year. Tragedies strike, mistakes are made and secrets are exposed.