Pebbles on a Beach begins in Brighton during the swinging sixties. Two young girls, Jem and Shylock, meet by chance on Brighton Pier. An intense friendship, a sisterhood, develops between them and they vow to share their lives forever. Then they fall in love with the same man. Life together becomes impossible. Their parting is painful, yet the bond between them never fades. After years of searching for her estranged friend, Gem is contacted by Shylock who begs her to perform one last act of sisterly love. Jem agrees, but the cost of fulfilling such a demanding promise might prove too great a price to pay for friendship. This book examines the complex relationships between mothers and daughters, friends and siblings. It explores the catastrophic consequence secrets and lies can have on the innocent and the guilty alike."How different the truth is for each of us. We invent stories to defend or hurt, to protect or deceive. We distort the facts until all we have left is a memory of a happening so personal that only we recognise it as the truth."