First published in 2000, this Seren edition is a reprint of one of Siân James’ most widely acclaimed novels. Siân James writes fluently, with both panache and humour. Her style is at once homely, unpretentious and brilliantly realistic.

Returning home to Wales for her mother’s funeral, actress Kate Rivers is overwhelmed by her past and forced to take stock of her life. Renewing old friendships and facing up to the trials of her past, Kate finds herself questioning her relationship with photographer Paul, and drawn to her charismatic - and married - cousin, Rhydian. But is her affair a second chance at happiness, or just a dangerous infatuation? Both in her central characters and the land in which they live, James’ novel reveals a spirit which, despite bleakness and tragedy, cannot be broken.

"Siân James writes fluently and with lively humour." – The Times

"A superb ear for dialogue and a marksman’s eye for revealing detail."
Sunday Times

Siân James was brought up and educated in west Wales. She is the author of twelve novels, including Storm at Arberth (Seren, 1995), Love and War (Seren, 2004) and Return to Hendre Ddu (Seren, 2009), and two collections of short stories. She has twice won the Yorkshire Post Prize for Fiction, and her novel A Small Country was filmed as the award-winning Calon Gaeth in 2006. Her translation of Kate Roberts’ The Awakening is also published by Seren (2006).