Told through the consultations with a psychologist in 1994 and 2004 by first James and then his wife Amy, the story recounts the tangled web between Amy, her twin Thea and younger sister Grace and mother Lucy, together with James and their close friends, Archie and Richard. Although the interplay of their relationships is well drawn, the individuals seem rather flat and one dimensional, seemingly fully absorbed in themselves with no much regard for others and the children of Amy and James hardly feature as individuals, only to be looked after by others. This made for rather mixed feelings towards the novel, with an ending that appeared too neat and pat after all that had gone before.

This story takes place mostly in 1994 and 2004, but we also get a brief glimpse of one day in 1984, the wedding day of James and Amy. In 2004 Amy makes several visits to the same therapist James visited a few times in 1994. As the various stories unfold we learn about how Amy and her twin Thea have parted ways, how James’s seemingly perfect life is suffering from doubt and anxiety, how his best friend Archie deals with his own immortality as his awaits the results of a biopsy, and how Thea returns to England and releases herself from disillusion and self-imposed exile. Meanwhile the twins’ mother, Lucy finally puts to rest some personal demons as the youngest daughter, Grace, comes into her own celebrity. Each chapter slowly and carefully reveals just a little bit more about each characters’ doubts and choices and the jump from 2004 to 1994 makes it all the more enticing as we are given snippets of information about where these choices have led them. ( )