SUMMARY A novel set in contemporary Brighton, following a group of
characters in their thirties and forties, pursuing very different
lifestyles. Their lives are curiously intertwined, and in their
quest for the meaning of life at the turn of the millennium, they
sever friendships, dissolve relationships, form strange alliances
and unlikely attachments. One of the central characters, Charlotte,
has moved to Brighton with her boyfriend, Zak, in a last-ditch
attempt to get their highly unsuccessful, four-year relationship
back on track. Convinced that they only need to find the right
place to make their partnership work, it soon becomes clear that
they are fast getting nowhere. Charlotte, who gave up a career as a
dancer to follow writer and anarchist Zak's whim of rural
isolation, gets a job as a waitress to make ends meet. She soon
makes new acquaintances, and although struggling to recognize her
true friends, she manages to give her life a new direction.
Inevitably, she excludes Zak, who feels more and more like a dead
weight, decides she'd be better off without him, and eventually
vanishes. One of Charlotte's new friends is Donna, who left her
husband and young children in search of excitement and adventure,
ending up in an unbearable platonic relationship. She seeks solace
with Liam, an ageing rock musician, trapped in a relationship with
Donna's boss Annette. Donna's take on her quite public fling with
Liam is that Annette is too boring and plain to have any claims on
a wild spirit like Liam. Charlotte's boss Marlene gets involved
with up-and-coming artist Karl. Their affair, intended to be just a
meaningless fling, turns out to be the real thing. But while
Marlene can't break out of her unhappy marriage, Karl gets
frustrated and increasingly desperate for a commitment from her.
True to his promise to keep their affair strictly fun, Karl hides
his yearning from Marlene, but confides in his best friend, Marek,
a bookseller with a big heart. Despite his own problems, Marek
always has an open ear for his friends in need, including Liam and
Zak. When Donna introduces Charlotte to a women's group, exploring
a range of New Age practices, including spiritual seances, she gets
drawn into a web of intrigue and deceit. She meets Lily and Glenda,
a lesbian couple, who excel in manipulating their fellow searchers.
Bohemian Lily, who enjoys needling the morbidly jealous Glenda,
moves in on Charlotte and starts to confuse her with her bizarre
stories and gossip about mutual acquaintances. Charlotte meets and
falls in love with Marek but, under the influence of Lily's wild
stories, finds it difficult to trust her own feelings. Tormented by
self-doubts and confusion about Marek's intentions and unable to
put Zak behind her, Charlotte's erratic behaviour threatens their
blossoming relationship. It is only when she realizes she needs to
find her own strength rather than depend on others for guidance,
that she feels ready to move on.
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