'Let us begin with two girls at a dance. One sits on a chair, opening and shutting a dance-card with gloved fingers. The other stands beside her, watching the dance unfold: the circling couples, the bounce of the floor. It begins here'.

The haunting story of a terrible family secret and a life stolen.

Hannah Gordon, Frances Grey and Eleanor Bron begin Maggie O'Farrell's highly acclaimed novel set between the conventions of 1930's Edinburgh and the freedoms of today.

Abridged by Sally Marmion

Producer: Di Speirs

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2006. Show less