Margaret meets Denise, the confident girl from two doors down who becomes her first friend in Portchester.

Margaret starts at Castle Lane Junior School and relies on Denise while she learns the unfamiliar routines.

Margaret and Denise spend Saturday mornings considering records they can rarely afford, while Peter treats musical taste as a test.

A reconstructed diary entry about Margaret’s final day at secondary school and the uncertain gap before her first job begins.

Margaret meets Alan at a social evening in Fareham, where careful dancing leads to a telephone call and a first date.

A chance meeting in Fareham brings Margaret and Denise back into contact after eighteen years.