"When your world falls apart the only person you can depend on is your sister. The three Chirnwell sisters are descended from the privileged squattocracy in Victoria's Western District – but could a long–held secret threaten their family?Harriett Chirnwell has a perfect life – a husband who loves her, a successful career and a daughter who is destined to become a doctor just like her.Xara has always lived in Harriet's shadow; her chaotic life with her family on their sheep farm falls far short of her older sister's standards of perfection and prestige.Georgie, the youngest sister and a passionate teacher, is the only one of the three to have left Billawarre. But is her life in Melbourne happy? Despite all three sisters having a different and sometimes strained bond with their mother, Edwina, they come together to organise a party for her milestone birthday – the first since their father's death. But when Edwina arrives at her party on the arm of another man, the tumult is like a dam finally breaking. Suddenly the lives of the Chirnwell sisters are flooded by scandal. Criminal accusations, a daughter in crisis, and a secret over fifty years in the making start to crack the perfect façade of the prominent pastoral family. A thought provoking novel about family expectations, secrets and lies."--bACK COVER.