The Rules currently governing my life are these ... Rule Number one: there is no justice. Rule Number two: contrary to a husband's hopes, a second wife does not have the Karma Sutra tucked into her handbag. It is more likely to be aspirin. Rule number three: never complain, particularly if you have been instrumental in demonstrating Rule number one. Rule number four: never serve liver or tofu. It is not clever. So says Minty Lloyd as she struggles to make her life work as Nathan's second wife. Mother to six year-old twins, sidelined at family gatherings by Nathan's hostile family, ostracised by his friends, she is haunted by the shadow of the glowing, successful Rose - Nathan's first wife. 'The trouble is,' she concludes, 'everything I do is second hand.' Yet, such is curious nature of fate, Minty finds herself united in loss with an unexpected ally - the woman she once betrayed. Buchan's signature gift for capturing women's daily joys and struggles is beautifully deployed in The Second Wife - an irresistible story of love, grief and renewal that explores that nature of friendship and the bonds that grow strongest when stretched to breaking.