This is the story of 4 lone parents in a small village in Ireland, each have their own troubles and when Detta returns from Dublin she sets up a support group for people like them. Niamh has been recently widowed after achieving her dream of moving into the perfect house and now struggles to come to terms with her loss and raising her small twins. Ruth's husband has ran off leaving her with three older children and a different set of problems but she doesn't seem to be missing him too much. Liam's wife has left him for Ruth's husband leaving him the sole carer of their daughter Poppy and he will do anything to get Laura back and Ciara, 17 and a mummy to the little dote Ella is still trying to hide who the father is and cope with the shame of being a teenage mum.
The group sets them all up as a set of very unlikely friends and as the story progresses their tales of woe are not always what they seem at first. Can these four move on with their lives and what is Detta's secret she is hiding? A well told tale of how friendship helps to overcome barriers and achieve integration into a community. The only disappointment was when Detta's secret was revealed, I can't understand how no one in the village knew it already considering it appeared to have been her home before her move to Dublin. This could have been expanded better as I felt Detta took on a modest role in the book and I would love to have seen her story padded out more. All in all another enjoyable read from this wonderful author from home.