Sauce for the Goose

Anne, in her early forties, is divorced with one grown up son, Chris. She gave up work a couple of years ago to care for her mother Bella, who's suffering from Alzheimers. It's difficult, but she copes - even though her self-obsessed sister Lynne offers as little help as she can get away with. Anne has very few opportunities to meet another man, and has no social life to speak of. Anne's adventurous son Chris is the exact opposite, and is on a round-the-world trip. Anne is worried sick about her only child's safety and misses him like mad. Sometimes all she can do to keep in contact with him is to anxiously wait for her computer to ping with another of his all-too-infrequent emails. She's eagerly awaiting an online chat with him when her computer breaks. This is when John, a divorced computer repair man in his forties, enters her life.

After a difficult start, romance blossoms, despite the ever-present complication of Bella. Eventually, as Chris leaves South America for Australia, Anne decides that she can't possibly go any longer without seeing her beloved son, and she wants him to meet John. She books two flights to Sydney, and finally stands up to Lynne, insisting that she look after mum for the three weeks that she'll be away.

But Lynne believes that the best solution for everyone would be to dump Bella in a care home, and she threatens to do exactly that if Anne lumbers her with the old girl. Lynne may be motivated by selfishness and laziness, but that may not mean there isn't some truth in what she's saying. Is mum the reason Chris isn't coming home? Will the burden eventually drive John away? Will Anne once again put the needs of her mother before her own needs to see her son, and get a life?

A funny-yet-touching tale of family priorities.