For some families, a year can feel like a lifetime ...

The Harrisons are a large and extremely close-knit family. But with the grandchildren fast becoming adults and elderly Pamela struggling to adapt to widowhood and the emptiness of Ashley House, the four children of the middle generation find themselves equally lost in a changing world.

As preparations for 42 year-old Cassie's long-awaited wedding gather pace and an exotic family holiday is planned, sibling and marital bonds are stretched to breaking point: adultery, an unwanted pregnancy, shadows of past losses ... suddenly a year of celebration threatens to become one of painful upheaval.

Beset by such emotional chaos, how can the adults hope to guide their children in matters of the heart? Or are the children the ones who should be guiding them?

A multi-generational story of love, lies and family ties, The Simple Rules of Love presents Amanda Brookfield at her perceptive and poignant best.