As the narration progresses from Lucas's point of view, we discover what happened to the characters.
Lucas admits to having been in love with Fern since he was a boy and she comforted him when he cried after learning that his father was in love with another woman other than his mother. Even though Lucas saw her very few times, he kept thinking about her. Then he decided to go to Rowan's party when he ran into Elise and told her about it. Elise said that she would go, and on the way there Elise talked incessantly and drank a bottle of wine herself. Lucas found her unbearable, and then she told him that Fern and Charlie were in a sexual relationship. That was a turning point for Lucas. On reaching Oxford, Elise showed him a doggy bag full of white powder, which he realised was cocained.
Rowan welcomed them and was surprised to se eLucas. Lucas felt like a fish out of water, and when Charlie arrived, he saw Charlie talking in confidence. That night Lucas slept in his car as there were no vancies in the hotels, and the next day he tried to find Elise, but he was unsuccessful and returned to London alone. Then his mother woke him up to say that Elise had been found dead. That is when Lucas said that Charlie must have provided the drugs, and Barbara decided to call the police, and Lucas testified, which sent Charlie to prison. Now lucas is aware that he lied because Elise already had drugs with her, and he didn't know what she and Charlie talked about.
Lucas was transferred to London, and from his father he discovered that after Charlie was dismissed, Charlie went off the rails. He moved to a squat, and even though Edwina helped him over and over again, nothing helped. Things came to a head when Charlie attacked Alice when she surprised him stealing things from the house. Then Edwina didn't want anything to do with him. Rowena decided to move to Australia, but years later she paid for a trip to Thailand for Charlie and herself. Charlie was doing better, but Rowan had to return to Australia. When she left, Charlie started hanging out with some tourists and started using again. Charlie was found dead with a syringing hanging from his arm. Edwina blamed Rowena beause she should have known that Charlie needed her.
We discover that Lucas was struck by guilt, and he started to drink and use cocaine. He was a functional addict, not like Charlie. Then when his father died, he decided to stop the drugs and he went to a rehab clinic.
Lucas knows that Fern married and had a baby girl, Sophie. She and James have remained together for years, and she lives in the country.
Lucas retrieves from his old trunk a box and decides to go and see Edwina. The woman is surprised to see him, and Lucas gives her the box. It was where she had her jewels and some precious family objects like Olli's lock of hair, the last photograph with him, the children's milk teeth, and her wedding band. Lucas confesses that at university he got into debt, and he gave the key to some guys to steal Edwina's jewels. They took them for Lucas's debts, but they didn't care about the other things. Edwina is glad to have these precious objects and thanks Lucas. He goes, and Edwina knows she won't see him again. Recently she has realised that her anger towards her daughter was just a reaction to the guilt she felt herself. Rowena has written, inviting her to Australia, and this is the first step for their reconciliation.
The last chapter is told from the point of view of Sophie, Fern's daughter. They are at a clinic, and Sophie is pregnant. The doctor tells her and Fern that Sophie is expecting twins and asks if twins run in the family, and Fern says that she has no idea.
I enjoyed the book greatly. When I started reading I had doubts that I would enjoy it because it started slow and without any dialogues, but I actually enjoyed every page.
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