RATING: NICE
SPOILERS!!!
This is the story of two Irish sisters. It starts in 2015 when both of them receive a letter inviting them to a school reunion which they don't want to go to. Eleanor lives in Galway with her husband and her son, Jacob, and she has been dealing with grief for many years. Her baby girl Beth died when she was two when she fell into a swimming pool accidentally. That has made Eleanor remove herself from life, and her son Jacob almost doesn't speak to her.
Caroline lives in England with a cousin of hers, Florence. From Eleanor we know that Caroline, who was the clever daughter, got into trouble when she was seventeen and had to be sent to England with Florence. Then she returned but after getting her leaving cert, she went to study in Wales and moved to England indefinitely.
The novel then moves back in time and we get to learn the story of these two sisters and how they got to the point where they are at present. At 17 Eleanor had aspirations to study story. She used to babysit for Jasper D'Arcy, a friend of her parents', and the father of her sister's boyfriend. Then one day when Jasper was driving him home, he forced himself on her even though she told him to stop. As a consequence, she got pregnant. Caroline tried to talk to Jasper but he just gave him money for an abortion. So she turned to the other person she thought she could trust: her mother. Yet, her mother turned her back to her as well. She said that Caroline might have lead Jasper on, and there was no way she could have the child in Ireland. Her idea was to send her to her cousin Florence in England and Caroline should have an abortion. Caroline protested and protested but she was packed off to England.
Once in England Caroline said to Florence that she wouldn't have an abortion, and Florence told her that she could do what she wanted. Her mother even travelled to England, but Florence defended her. Then she had her baby and gave her up for adoption. What Eleanor and her father knew was that she had been raped, but not that Jasper was the one who attacked her. Her mother, even knowing what Jasper had done, continued her friendship with him.
During Caroline's stay in England, Andrew, Jasper's son, broke up with Eleanor, and she felt very miserable. Then she met Conor Fennelly, who was a new neighbour and became a good friend. Eleanor fell for him, but when she dared to tell him, Conor confessed that she was gay. Eleanor, who studied cooking, got a job with Conor's uncle, Gordon, and they fell in love and got married.
In present time we learn that Caroline studied design after she got interested in knitting through her friendship with Florence. Now she owns her own business, and through her business she met Mateo, whose mother has a cooperative with other women that supply wool to Caroline. Mateo is ten years Caroline's senior, and the question of age worried her, but when Mateo showed his interest they started a relationship.
Now the baby Caroline gave up in adoption has contacted her, and they finally meet. Noah is lovely, and he wants to meet her father. So she plans to travel to Ireland. Mateo asks her to marry him but she gives her time to think. She has never told Mateo about the child she had at the age of 17, so she fears that when he learns the truth, that will be the end of her. So she writes a letter to him, telling him everything and accepting his proposal if he still wants her. Then Florence dies. Eleanor travels to be with her sister. She has been struggling lately. She has realised that her years-long grief over Beth has made her lose her son. And on top of everything Gordon tells her that the restaurant is not doing well and they will have to close down. Eleanor realises that she has not done the right thing. She decides to change, so she goes to the doctor because she wants to lose weight and recommends her a psychotherapist to help her in the process of grieving. She also tries to look after herself, the house and the garden, and little by little Jacob seems to notice the change in her.
When Eleanor goes to Frances's funeral, Caroline tells her about Noah, and she also tells him about Jasper being the one who raped her and how their mother acted when she told him. Eleanor is outraged, but she is glad that she and Caroline have talked.
When Eleanor travels to England, she arranges to meet Jasper. Then she tells him that Noah wants to meet him, but she has not told him how he was conceived. Caroline doesn't give him the chance to say anything, and simply gives him Noah's details. In her parents' house Caroline tells them about Noah wanting to meet them, but her mother refuses, and then Caroline says that if she refuses her son, this is the last time she will set foot in the house. Her father, though, wants to meet his grandson. Then Caroline gets a call from England. Mateo has travelled to see her and she is not there. He says that he doesn't care about her son, and he wants to marry her.
Eleanor's situation also improves. She contacts Conor, who is now a popular artist, and asks him if she can sell the portrait he did of her because that would give her and Gordon money to start something smaller. Conor tells her that she won't sell the painting because he has money and is going to invest money in her and Gordon's bistro.
The last chapter takes place six months later. Caroline and Mateo are getting married, and she is expecting a baby. Everybody is at her wedding except for her mother, who refuses to accept Noah. Eleanor and Gordon are doing well, and things are better with Jacob, and we discover that Eleanor may be expecting a baby.
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