Until her French father walks out of her life at twelve Helen Wilton is Hélène Fournier. Apart from her name, the plucky, smart and affectionate young girl also loses an indefinable part of her essence.

Helen grows up to become a mass of intriguing contradictions: as warm-hearted as she is sharp-witted, as steadfast in her friendships as she is eclectic in her loves, as worldly and stylish as she is bookish and academic. And when she gets tripped up by the contradictions - or by the absurd and confusing vagaries of love - Helen picks herself up and gets on with it because she's too much of a one-off to wait around to be rescued.

Maybe she'll never stop having to pick herself up. Or maybe she'll realize that rediscovering the inner Hélène and facing the loss of her father are the keys to her future ... and to finding real love.

In this stunning debut novel Alison Jameson has created a captivating heroine and written a wonderfully witty, tender, knowing and truly original story of modern love.