Fiona Travers, single and in her thirties, has a talent for choosing Mr Wrong. One disappointment too many, and she decides to abandon the hunt. Old Maids RIP, the new spinster thrives.

Aren't the days long gone when you hooked a husband to acquire a life? What can a man give Fiona that she can't give herself?

She voluntarily places herself on the shelf - for good.

But there's nothing more unsettling to the miserably married than a woman who trades in happy-ever-after for the chance of a new beginning. Take Jill. She's convinced that Fiona's announcement is just another ploy to help herself to a husband - Jill's.

At the same time Claire, Fiona's best friend, has grown weary of coping alone. Secretly, she's arranged a marriage for herself. It ain't love, but when you're hurtling towards middle age, childfree and spouse-less, companionship is good enough . . . Or is it?

Yvonne Roberts' wise and witty novel wickedly proposes that the trouble with single women today - is that no one can quite predict what they might do next . . .

While the trouble with love - is that it still holds all the best tricks.