A mixed-up woman leaves her husband and skips off to London. Initially named Emily, one of twins, this lady renames herself Catherine. She leaves the husband she met while skydiving, in Manchester and finds a small, grotty flat in a run-down London area, having cleaned out her bank account and brought her passport. Why would she do this?

ONE STEP TOO FAR follows Catherine as she meets her new eccentric housemates, remodels her sparse tatty room into an Ikea look, drinks a lot of vodka, reflects on her past. She's had an unloved childhood and her twin was hospitalised with anorexia, then developed a personality disorder. The Finsbury flat kitchen borders on the infamous scene from 'Withnail and I', while Catherine has a vague idea of working as a receptionist and has already set herself up with a new e-mail account but has to find an internet cafe to use it. Her new life is not going to be easy.

Finding herself, with the help of lively housemate Angel, shoplifting clothes and taking cocaine, Catherine yet gets ahead in an advertising firm and the two move to a better flat. Interspersed we see her twin Caroline on the day when a nail-bomb explodes in a busy bar and she sits for forty minutes while her boyfriend helps the injured, then accuses him of abandoning her. Meanwhile Ben, Catherine's husband, is showing her photo to people, trying to come to terms with the fact that his wife has deliberately vanished.

Tina Seskis has written a carefully linked story of contrasts and generations, of insanity and family, and one woman's struggle to save her own identity. This is not the London of the postcards, the royal weddings, this is grimy, sweaty and crowded, a merging of people and unhappiness and city sprawl. ONE STEP TOO FAR will reward the more thoughtful reader who wants to get inside the skin of the characters, smell the vodka, feel the pain, shake to the music.