The award-winning debut novel from the author of Venus Flaring and Tenterhooks. Elizabeth, a young, overworked hospital doctor, gets a phone call from her father late on a Friday night telling her that her mother is dangerously ill. Over the course of the weekend that follows, Elizabeth, on duty as ever and confronting the barely controlled chaos of a busy casualty ward, finds moments to reminisce about her childhood, its joys and its miseries. Past and present are interwoven in a series of vivid tableaux, drawing the reader into an intimate understanding of Elizabeth's life as a whole.