Tara Richards used to be a strong confident woman with a powerful job. Men used to curse at her entrance and bend like daisies in the wind to her every thought, decision or command. Now she is unhappy, sitting in the gutter crying… Tara devoted her life to her boys and in return, without realizing, has alienated herself from those around her. Tara's husband, Jim, is a successful sheep farmer but he has become uncommunicative to his family, including his wife. James is their eldest child, at eight years old. He has become quiet, solitary and has withdrawn from everyone, including his mother.
Ever happy, talkative Bobby with his big smiling eyes is six years old. He talks of his many friends and of conversations with his unborn sibling. They live on a farm in the small town of Karitane, Otago, New Zealand - approximately half an hour north of Dunedin. Then there is Carl, a widower, and his friendship with Tara.
Tara finds out she is pregnant. Who will Tara choose? Who is the baby’s father? And what happens on Puketeraki Beach on that sunny Sunday September afternoon that will change all their lives forever…
This novel is about communication and lack of, past choices creating the now and the now creating the future and choosing to live rather than survive.