The Next Best Thing

At thirty-five, Jane, a freelance translator, realizes something rather disturbing. She thought she had her life perfectly balanced: working from home allows her to be financially independent, spend time with her daughter, and escape office politics. But somehow, instead of combining a glamorous career with parenting, she’s combining falling asleep over her laptop with putting in another load of washing.

For Jane’s partner, Will, a travel writer, things are working out just right. The fact that Jane takes care of the housework while bringing in an income means he can indulge his politically correct objections to employing a cleaner. And, converting the best part of their house into a “galleria” for himself, his books and his all-important thoughts, suits him down to the ground.

Then there’s Lydia, editor of London’s glossiest magazine. She knows exactly what she wants from life: a glittering career, a husband with a large income and a stately home. Her fiancé, The Banker, has a lucrative job and a whole page to himself in Burke’s Landed Gentry… but it’s just possible that he wants more out of life than that. So when he and Jane meet, all four of them are in for a bit of a shock.