The Men and the Girls

Book excerpt: When James accidentally swerves into an elderly woman with his car, he is mortified. But for his girlfriend, Kate, it’s a wake-up call: What is she doing with this man, twenty-five years her senior, who forgets his glasses and knocks an old lady off her bike? James’s lifelong friend Hugh is faring little better with his seemingly perfect and significantly younger wife Julia. Once one of Britain’s most famous newsmen, Hugh sees his star fading—just as Julia’s is rising through a lucrative new TV career. Four people—the men and the girls—each struggle with discontent as two relationships teeter on the brink. Add to the mix one fiercely independent spinster named Miss Bachelor, and what transpires will alter all of their lives forever, as new relationships blossom, old insecurities surface, and homes and fortunes are turned upside down.