Publishing year: 2012
The prologue of this book is set in 19001 when a ship is lost off the coast of Brisbane, and some members of the Winterbourne family lose their lives to the sea.
The novel then moves forward in time. It is 2001, and we are first introduced to Libby as she attends the funeral of the man who she has loved for twelve year. Mark Winterbourne has been her lover all time. Libby is broken inside, but in the church she has to swallow her tears from those surround her. She has no right to show her grief because nobody knew how important she was to Mark as he was already married and with children. So their relationship was conditioned to discretion because he couldn’t hurt his wife and children. Now as Mark died suddenly of an aneurysm, Libby is left bereft and lonely.
Libby lives in Paris where she works as a jewel designer, but after Mark dies, she decides to dump her job and move back to her homeland, Australia. A few years ago Mark bought a cottage on the bay where Libby had grown up, and that had been his present. Mark had wanted them to go to Australia together, but Libby has put the trip off as she feared to face her sister, Juliet. We know that something happened between the two sisters twenty years ago, something that Libby feels remorseful about, and back then she swore she would never return to Australia. Yet, now that she doesn’t have Mark and her job makes no sense, she decides to return to Australia and live in the cottage that Mark bought for her. So she travels there, and even though the cottage needs some work done, she is happy. Yet, she still hasn’t plucked up the courage to go and see her sister. I wonder why these two women fell out years ago. Libby never talked about that to Mark because she felt ashamed. I am curious about what could be so terrible that these two women haven’t talked in twenty years.
Interesting start!!!
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