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Helen Bradshaw is a 26-year-old with a lot to get over.

Being a dogs body on a woman's magazine.

Being five foot one.

The embarrassment of driving a Toyota.

But her biggest problem is her addiction to the kind of man a shrink would call 'emotionally distant' and normal people would call 'a wanker'.

She lives with Luke, her friend, who's devoted to her but far too nice, and Marcus, her enormously vain flat mate and landlord, whom she secretly lusts after. And Fatboy, her very spoiled cat.

Then Helen's life is turned on its head. Her father has a heart attack and dies. Her mother goes to pieces and she's forced to spend far more time than she wants with her old bag of a grandmother. Her boyfriend confesses his infidelity, she sleeps with Marcus, and gets to know Fatboy's vet, the lovely Tom. But before the path of love can run smooth, Helen has to learn what really matters in life.

ANNA MAXTED

Anna Maxted is a contributing editor of Cosmopolitan and writes a column for Esquire.  She lives in London with her cats and her husband.  This is her first novel.