Best friends Kate and Betty had once been inseparable as they grew up together in the rough beauty of the North Yorkshire countryside. But eventually time had drawn them apart, Betty becoming a successful lawyer, whist Kate opted for a life of domesticity and motherhood. When, years later, they meet again, they still enjoy each other's company - though their husbands are less well suited - and, despite the differences in their lives, they stay in touch.

It is in a spirit of helpfulness that Kate suggests that Claire, the newly graduated daughter of another childhood friend, Chrissie Newbould, might be suitable for the position of secretary to Betty's MP husband - a suggestion that is to have a devastating impact on the lives that each of them has made during a decade of ruthless change.