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He smiled. ’I’m not looking for anything serious, just to have fun. What about you?’

She stared at him over the rim of her glass. He wanted her for as long as it suited him. She felt an emptiness that might be grief. But what if he fell in love with her? Wouldn’t he change his mind?

It is Melbourne, 1966. When 18-year-old Jo Kelly claps eyes on her new co-worker, Ian Miles, she is smitten. As they begin dating, Jo is starry eyed, convinced she is the luckiest girl in the world.

But unlike Jo, Ian is cynical about love. He is twenty-eight, divorced and has a seven-year old daughter. Jo begins to feel that he is unwilling to share his life with her. More problems emerge as the couple must navigate a gossiping workplace, deal with Jo’s religious mother and are challenged by social attitudes which vilify women who are in unconventional relationships.

From the author of Into the Dying Forest comes an empathetic story about the hurdles we must overcome in the pursuit of love and freedom. With grace and compassion, J.K. Bruce paints a picture of a couple struggling against the odds to stay together. While Jo emerges from repression only to battle with guilt and the prejudice of others, Ian must confront the long term impact of childhood trauma which has affected all of his relationships.