The Wendy House

Book excerpt: Returning to the luxuries of London after five years on location in the hotspots of the world, photojournalist Charlie feels like a fish out of water; her adventures are not topics for conversation at dinner tables where the merits of marriage, maternity and the latest marinade dominate. Her sister Kate, one-time sassy vixen, is now a young married with two small children, one large au pair, a stainless steel balloon whisk and an interior-designed house. Kate is also in retail therapy. And she is determined Charlie should follow suit. But can real domestic happiness only be played out in a wendy house? When Charlie meets fellow photographer Andrew Edwards, a man with a government health warning tattooed to his forehead, it looks like independence isn't all it's cracked up to be...