With gentle but penetrating wit and insight, Elizabeth Buchan tells the story of two women whose lives are separated by fifty years, but linked in a variety of subtle and surprising ways as they try to make sense of the conflicting demands of liberation and duty, freedom and necessity, and the labyrinthine pursuit of happiness...

The Second Wife is the compelling novel from bestselling author Elizabeth Buchan. What happens when the mistress gets her man? Against the odds, that's what happened to Minty. She stole her best friend Rose's husband Nathan and made him her own. But now that she's got what she wanted - marriage, kids, a family home - she's discovering a few things she didn't bargain on: the cold shoulder from Nathan's other family, her husband's middle age and growing distance...and accepting that first wives don't just go away. What's more, age brings one or two other problems for Minty. Problems that will...

Annie and Tom's marriage is in mid-life crisis. They seem to have everything - a lovely home, rewarding jobs and three healthy grown-up children - but, beneath the surface, all is not well. Beneath the surface lies a secret guilt which ensures that whilst they live under the same roof, they sleep in separate beds.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that all mothers want to see their daughters happily settled. But for Lara, mother to Maudie and stepmother to Jasmine and Eve, realizing this ambition has not been easy.