‘I’ve left you a list on my desk,’ Rick said . . . The house fell silent and I wandered into the study to collect my instructions. There was only one scrawled piece of paper on the desk so there was no mistaking the single command. It said: organize Christmas.

Helen is finally finding her feet just in time for the looming festive season.

Surrounded by family, friends and the finer things in life, Helen’s generous offer to organize Christmas for the neurotic Leoni soon snowballs into an unmanageable avalanche of tasks when her chaotic boss dumps his seasonal arrangements on her too. And with Julia heading towards a mind-boggling midlife crisis of her own, it looks as though Helen is well and truly stuffed!

And so it begins, the season of good grief to all women . . .

Praise for Alison Penton Harper:

'Laugh-a-minute, frothy fun' Sunday Express