Identical twins Clemmy and Helen, named after the beautiful heroines of Greek mythology, live in a dilapidated cottage in the woods, having little contact with the outside world. Abandoned at birth by their father, a painter, the girls are raised by their mother, who they ignore, existing only for each other.
Life hasn't been kind to Alice. Abandoned by her father at fourteen, she ran away two years later to 60s London, embracing all the darkness it had to offer when hopes of finding her father are lost. But that was the past and at thirty-seven she meets and marries Jake. They have a son, Adam, and life is perfection.