Grace has always held it together – just – her career in advertising, her two wayward children, and her foreign-correspondent ex, who turns up in his flak jacket at unwelcome moments. But all that is set to change, as her boss unhelpfully reminds her that she is the wrong side of 40, she faces losing her home, and she begins to look at life through the bottom of a wine glass…

But Grace is much, much, stronger than she thinks she is… In the space of a short few weeks, she discovers the joys of middle-aged smoking, and middle-aged sex, ... Read moreof riding a motorbike, hotwiring a car, and other activities definitely not for the faint-hearted…

But, more importantly, she discovers the importance of family, of friendship, and that mistakes, no matter how terrible, can be put right. Life is difficult, Grace realises, but in her own unique way, she emerges triumphant…

`This is that rare commodity, feel-good fiction that actually feels good’ The Irish Times

`Beneath its frothy cappuccino exterior, there beats a heart of gold, and a story told with increasing joie-de-vivre’

Nuala O’Faolain