A compassionate novel exploring our deep need for human comfort and reassurance, even in the midst of seeming plenty. In the trendy satellite town of Durry, four couples live in the support and trust of their joint friendship. They've stuck by one another through young love and marriage break-up, hard times and rising affluence. Each knows the others inside out. But now the teenage daughter of one of them is killed in a hit and run. Cracks begin to appear in their relationships. Can the centre hold?