Facing the Light

von Adèle Geras

The most perfect family saga since The Shell Seekers - a stunning multi-generational drama with a stunning twist you'll never see coming. When Leonora invites the whole family to her 75th birthday party, two secrets she has guarded all her life come to light with devastating consequences.

An extended family gathers in late summer to celebrate the 75th birthday of its formidable grandmother, Leonora. She is the daughter of the famous Edwardian painter Ethan Walsh, whose paintings are kept at the family home, Willow Court in Wiltshire. At Leonora's house party will be her daughters, Gwen and Rilla, whom she raised alone after she was widowed in her late twenties; Rilla's stepdaughter Beth; and Gwen's husband and three children with their spouses and lovers. One outsider joins the group: Sean Everard, a television director who's making a documentary about the life and work of Ethan Walsh.

All families have their dark side and Leonora's is no exception. By the time the marquee is dismantled and all the guests have gone their separate ways, two shocking past events have come to light, to rock complacency and change for ever the lives of Leonora and her daughters.