Cassandra and Kate are at school together and there they forge a friendship that is to last them throughout their lives.
Cassandra, blonde and beautiful, marries Tom Wivenhoe – a submariner. Kate, serious and loyal, marries Mark Webster – also a submariner.
Among their naval friends are Mark Mainwaring (married to Felicity), George Lampeter (basically bachelor material but snared into an affair by Felicity) and Ralph Masters (married to Harriet).
The book charts their lives through the births of their children (to Cassandra – Charlotte, Oliver, Saul and Gemma: to Kate – twins Guy and Giles), through the breakdown of Kate’s marriage and through Cassandra’s various affairs (including one which results in one of her cast off lovers, Tony Whelan, marrying Liz).
Cassandra, blonde and beautiful, marries Tom Wivenhoe – a submariner. Kate, serious and loyal, marries Mark Webster – also a submariner.
Among their naval friends are Mark Mainwaring (married to Felicity), George Lampeter (basically bachelor material but snared into an affair by Felicity) and Ralph Masters (married to Harriet).
The book charts their lives through the births of their children (to Cassandra – Charlotte, Oliver, Saul and Gemma: to Kate – twins Guy and Giles), through the breakdown of Kate’s marriage and through Cassandra’s various affairs (including one which results in one of her cast off lovers, Tony Whelan, marrying Liz).
It is her last affair, with lawyer Nicholas Farley, which is indirectly responsible for the death of her daughter Charlotte.
CHARACTERS WHO APPEAR IN OTHER BOOKS (often in minor roles):-
Cassandra Wivenhoe (Thea’s Parrot, Hattie’s Mill and Starting Over)
Tom Wivenhoe (Thea’s Parrot)
Oliver Wivenhoe (Thea’s Parrot and The Dipper)
Gemma Wivenhoe (The Courtyard, The Birdcage and Echoes of the Dance)
Saul Wivenhoe (Thea’s Parrot and The Birdcage)
Kate Webster (Thea’s Parrot, Starting Over and Echoes of the Dance)
Guy Webster (The Courtyard, The Birdcage and Echoes of the Dance)
Giles Webster (Second Time Around and Echoes of the Dance)
Hugh Ankerton (Starting Over and A Weeks in Winter)
Sarah and Nicholas Farley (Hattie’s Mill)
Michael and Harriet Barrett-Thompson (Thea’s Parrot, The Dipper and Echoes of the Dance)
George Lampeter (Thea’s Parrot)
Tony and Liz Whelan (The Dipper)
Annabel and William Hope-Latymer (Thea’s Parrot and The Dipper)
CHARACTERS WHO APPEAR IN OTHER BOOKS (often in minor roles):-
Cassandra Wivenhoe (Thea’s Parrot, Hattie’s Mill and Starting Over)
Tom Wivenhoe (Thea’s Parrot)
Oliver Wivenhoe (Thea’s Parrot and The Dipper)
Gemma Wivenhoe (The Courtyard, The Birdcage and Echoes of the Dance)
Saul Wivenhoe (Thea’s Parrot and The Birdcage)
Kate Webster (Thea’s Parrot, Starting Over and Echoes of the Dance)
Guy Webster (The Courtyard, The Birdcage and Echoes of the Dance)
Giles Webster (Second Time Around and Echoes of the Dance)
Hugh Ankerton (Starting Over and A Weeks in Winter)
Sarah and Nicholas Farley (Hattie’s Mill)
Michael and Harriet Barrett-
Tony and Liz Whelan (The Dipper)
Annabel and William Hope-
Those Who Serve
