One day at the bus stop Karen - wife, mother and worn-out breadwinner - experiences what she describes as a "metaphor moment". The grocery bags weigh heavily, the work bag even more so, and there she stands, absolutely powerless to make that darn bus appear. Lucky thing, then, that she has her Friday night friends: two lone young mothers, a contented careerist (the somewhat less satisfied Karen's business partner), a retiree who dispenses advice like a Magic 8-Ball and a twentysomething DJ. For all the power careers, single parenthood and enduring ties of the sisterhood, Joanna Trollope shackles her story to men like a suffragette to a lamppost. The result is a light but insightful look at a rather conventional cast of characters.