Middlingham- or "Middle-of-nowhere" as Caroline nicknames it- is home to the teenager and her closest friends, Elizabeth and Hayley. All three girls find themselves rejected, to varying degrees, by the people who are supposed to love them the most- their parents. Caroline takes cynical pride in being the black sheep of the family. Elizabeth refuses to follow the choice of profession that's been laid out for her and Hayley goes for the oldest story in the book. 'We should call ourselves "The Reject's Club." Three unwanted darlings together, ' Caroline flutters her eyelashes theatrically and...

PART 1: THE PRESENT Middlingham- or "Middle-of-nowhere" as Caroline Vallely nicknames it- is a provincial town in Norfolk, home to teenage Caroline and her closest friends, Elizabeth and Hayley. The story begins in the late 1980's as all three girls find themselves rejected, to varying degrees, by the people who are supposed to love them the most- their parents. Caroline has always had a difficult relationship with her mother and father, and takes cynical pride in being the black sheep of the family. Elizabeth refuses to follow the choice of profession that's been laid out for her and Hayley...