Iris has rescued her newly discovered great-aunt Esme from the institution where she's been for 61 years. But only her grandmother Kitty - whose mind is now fractured with Alzheimer's - remembers the whole story of her sister's past.

Poignant story of the shameful treatment of unconventional women in the 1930s and the lengths a woman might go to, for the thing she wants most.

Hannah Gordon, Frances Grey and Eleanor Bron continue 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