What happens to a family when its private tragedies become public scandal? How much do you really know about the lives of those closest to you?
Three generations of a family take turns to tell their story.
Max Priestley - charismatic, ambitious and amoral - has always lived close to the edge, building a glittering political career while hiding the complexities of his private life. But when his best friend's wife dies in a fire, the suspicion that he may know more than he has admitted leads to disgrace.
Maggie, his 28-year-old daughter, suspects her father has lied about the night of the fire but is determined not to betray him - until she falls in love with the journalist who is writing his biography and begins to understand the cost of hiding the truth.
Only Nanda, Max's elderly mother, preparing for death, remembers the hidden family secrets which lie at the root of Max's deceit.
This beautifully-crafted, unsettling - and ultimately uplifting - novel explore the elusive nature of truth and reveals what happens when family loyalties are tested to the limits.
