Catherine's life is shattered when her husband, Simon, vanishes without a trace, leaving her to raise their three surviving children on her own. Years later, Simon suddenly reappears, bringing with him a web of lies and ever increasingly shocking revelations that challenge everything Catherine thought she knew about her past. A disjointed retelling of an utterly unbelievable life; mostly lacking casual nexus between life events.  Despite these bizarre staccato highlights, the novel moves extremely slowly and for the most merely depicts how two people moved on with their separate and utterly complex lives.  Not Marr's best work, but the brutality of the finale, somewhat makes up for the long road to get there.