Spanning fifty years, this is a sweeping tale of heartbreak and forbidden love from the author of The Other Side of Beautiful.
When seventy-five-year-old Thomas Mullet reluctantly sits on his psychologist's couch, he discloses three things: He is dying. His wife doesn't know. Nor does his other wife.
1960 Gawler, South Australia. Church Street: a quiet street in a respectable country town, where wives keep neat houses and neighbours keep neat yards. A place where gossip stirs behind closed doors and privacy is elusive. Where newly married couple Thomas and Elsie Mullet are excited to start their lives together.
After being forced to resign her typing job, Elsie tries hard to adjust to becoming the perfect housewife, but despite her best attempts, grows lonely and bored. Until she meets the mysterious woman next door. Aida Glasson is eighteen years old, unmarried, and hiding a shameful secret. Through failed biscuits, euthanised chickens and shared loneliness, Elsie and Aida's friendship is cemented. But when that friendship takes a surprising turn, where does that leave Thomas?
Tender, moving and titillating, this is a love story like no other: an unforgettable portrayal of a complex family hidden in conservative suburbia.