Single mom Jess is having a hard time of it. Working by day as a cleaner and by night as a barmaid, she is doing her best to support her young daughter, Tanzie, and stepson, Nicky—not to mention Norman the dog. But it’s not just making ends meet that is the problem. Jess’ husband, Marty, is living with his mother while recovering from a breakdown and seems to have forgotten that he has a family to support. One of Jess’ cleaning clients, Ed, is a software genius running his own company with pal Ronan. But Ed has just made the biggest mistake of his career, a mistake that is threatening to send him to jail. And as Jess soon finds out, Ed shows all the signs of being your typical, materialistic rich man and a very bad drunk, someone she wants nothing to do with. When Tanzie, a mathematics genius, is offered the chance of a scholarship to go to a private school, Jess really wants to take up the offer—but it means finding even more money to make up the cost of fees! A math Olympiad in Scotland could provide those fees, but they cannot afford to get there. Then, a surprise offer from Ed turns into the road trip of a lifetime…
I loved the characters in this story. Jess is a very likeable woman fighting hard for her family at a young age, and Ed does some serious soul searching and starts to realize (almost too late) the important things in life. And like she does in her other books, Moyes creates an engaging story that you don't want to end.