Susan Scarlett

Petronella and Pauline Lane are 17-year-old twins, but not identical. “Peter”, kind but utterly self-absorbed, is ravishingly beautiful while “Paul” - practical, sensitive, and loved by all - tends to slip through the cracks. Their father is the local vicar, their mother, with an eye for getting them married, arranges for the girls to work in a London dress shop run by David, son of local aristocracy. But David’s dishonest, fortune-hunting manageress is anything but pleased by their arrival...

James Longford, a wealthy former racing car driver with vision loss from an accident several years before, hires 26-year-old Marda Mayne as companion to his newly-orphaned 17-year-old American ward Shirley.

His main concern is to avoid being troubled so he can continue to live in self-imposed isolation, but as plucky, practical Marda and flirtatious, kind-hearted Shirley take his intimidating household staff in hand (and find an unexpected ally in that surly butler), they also begin to revive James' interest in life.

The trio will have to brace themselves, however, when his self-absorbed, manipulative sister Vera-who sees his fortune as practically already hers-announces a visit.

The Corners and the Binns are show business families on the verge of dire straits due to lack of jobs in the postwar economy. But crisis is averted when they snag a summer gig performing a variety show at a holiday camp.

It's not all smooth sailing, however. The Corners' daughter Dulcie is attractive and talented, but a bit of a diva, and when she sets her sights on the show's pianist and composer, Tom Pollard, gets not a flicker of response, then discovers that his focus is on Nella Binns, a dancer with real talent but no ability to "put herself over", danger signs flash.

The resulting drama, with a lush array of details about the perils of mounting a stage show, postwar life, and the lingering scars of war, is an irresistibly entertaining tale of family dynamics, ambition, and love.