Lovers and Newcomers

"One of the best storytellers around . . . turns her attention to the trials and tribulations of turning 60 . . . A sure-fire winner" ( Daily Express).   Rosie Thomas, beloved by readers for her brilliantly realized characters and twisting, page-turning plots, turns her "sharp nib" to a group of older friends in this evocative story of camaraderie and its challenges ( The Washington Post Book World).   Miranda Meadowe decides a lonely widowhood in her crumbling country house is not for her. Reviving a university dream, she invites five of her oldest friends to come live with her, and to stave off the prospect of old age. All have their own reasons for accepting. To begin with, the omens are good. They laugh, dance, drink, and behave badly as they cling to the legacy they thought was theirs forever: power, health, stability. They are the baby boomers; the world is theirs to change. But as old attractions resurface alongside new tensions, they discover the clock can't be put back. When building work reveals an Iron Age burial site of a tribal queen, the outside world descends on their idyllic retreat, and the isolation of the group is breached. The past is revealed—and the future that beckons is very different from the one they imagined.   "A truly heart-warming story of the value of friendship and the beauty of life. I can guarantee you will not be disappointed." — The Bookbag   "A wonderful story that explores relationships, history and change." — She magazine   "An evocatively told story of friendship, families and relationships, sharpened by the arrival of the outside world into their idyllic country retreat." — Choice