Real by Stephanie Merritt: what happens when a love affair goes wrong? What happens to all those hopes and dreams?

Greg is a fading middle-aged actor whose family life has long since become stale; Sally is a struggling young playwright. When they're thrown together to do a West End play, they plunge into a reckless affair that seems to offer an escape into fantasy . . . until Sally makes a shocking discovery that brings them face to face with real life again. A novel of sharp insight, written with warmth and compelling honesty, Real is a brilliant portrait of modern illusions about love.