Melanie finds herself single again after years of being one half of a couple. Her friends predict loneliness, frustration, disaster. Her parents are convinced she’s a failure in life. But Melanie is overwhelmingly excited to be able to do her own thing – she plans a programme of behaving badly, after a lifetime of behaving properly.

Have you ever wondered what your ex is up to? When Nell was a student, she and Patrick were a serious item. They were inseparable, and she really thought he was The One. But then Alex came along…the safer, more restful option, and thanks to her over-controlling mother she opted for him instead. Now nothing is going right. Alex has left her to live in New York with a younger, blonder woman.

Jenn has always prided herself on being a city girl – she insists on easy access to good coffee, great food from around the globe, not to mention an easy commute. So, when her job takes her to one of the most famous Italian wine regions in search of the perfect Prosecco, travelling to meetings on a tractor is a bit of a culture shock.

It was Heather's silver wedding anniversary. But this important milestone did not mark her marriage to Tom, her often-absent airline pilot husband and father of their two teenage children. It was for her first marriage - a wildly romantic, secret affair, when she and Iain - 12 years older than her and the heir to a Scottish baronetcy - had eloped immediately after her final school speech day. She was just 16 at the time.

Funerals are strange things. Kitty hadn't really wanted to go to this one - a old school friend she hadn't seen for years - and she hadn't bargained for the way it made her think of the past. In particular, it made her think of the baby she had given birth to when she was eighteen, the baby her parents had insisted she give away for adoption. She'd called her Madeleine, and she remembered her every day, what she was like, if she was happy.

Alice has a scrupulously organised, comfortable life in West London with Noel - her second husband whose main ambition in life is to sharpen his golf handicap in time for retirement. But Alice’s once-famous bohemian mother, Jocelyn, residing in shabby splendour in a crumbling house on a clifftop in Cornwall, becomes ill and Alice, with her daughter and stepson, goes to look after her. What she finds there appals her.

A Proper Family Holiday was the last thing Lucy was expecting to have. But as a penniless and partnerless house-painter with an expired lease on her flat and a twelve-year-old daughter, she could hardly turn down her parents' offer to take them on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Caribbean.

It’s 20 years since Miranda, then 16, holidayed in Cornwall and her life changed forever. Now she’s back again – with her mother Clare and the ashes of her stepfather Jack, whose wish was to be scattered on the sea overlooked by their one-time holiday home. The picturesque cove seems just the same as ever, but the people are different – more smart incomers, fewer locals, more luxury yachts in the harbour.

It is almost a year since Sean and Thea met, and it's been a roller-coaster ride: they're getting married on Christmas Day! Neither Thea nor Sean wants a big fuss - a simple wedding, with Christmas lights and just a few sprigs of mistletoe for decoration is all they need. But before they know it, things begin to get complicated.

Thea’s parents decide to host a big family Christmas in a house by the sea… even though they are, in fact, about to split up. Thea herself is newly single - her sister and brother are both settled, with children, homes and a future. But Thea’s boyfriend has ditched her in favour of his pedigree dogs, and Thea can’t decide whether or not she minds. There will be copious food and drink, holly and mistletoe, lots of bracing walks and a wintry barbecue on the beach.

After losing the love of her life in a tragic accident, 30-year-old Gina is struggling. Running her little guesthouse in the hills of the Lake District keeps her going, but her heart isn’t in it anymore. When new guest Fabio Garcia arrives, Gina feels a spark that reminds her she’s alive. He’s tall, dark, but with startling blue eyes and makes her laugh for the first time in...forever. Guilt holds her back, but friends, and a glass (or three) of wine, push her into his arms.

Sasha Greenhope has a very lovely life. Her marriage is solid, her only daughter is delightful and the family business is going full steam ahead. The only blip on the horizon is the upcoming family reunion for her parents 40th-wedding anniversary at Chadwell House—the family pile. Sasha just does not fit with her rich family. Her French mother, Delphine thinks everything Sasha does is a faux pas... And siblings, Adele and Beau, are clearly the favourites, leaving Sasha surplus to requirements.

Grace's childhood home, Chadlicote Manor, is being sold to settle family debts. Will losing her home be the chance for a new life? Karen's husband has the Manor in his sights as a chance to start over.

When Harlow Sands arrives on an idyllic Greek island to work on a big budget movie, it should be the opportunity of a lifetime. But her uncertainty over the direction of her life and the high expectations of Maeve Fennimore-Bell, her domineering Hollywood producer mum, threatens to ruin her summer on beautiful Skopelos. Location manager Tyler Reed has his fair share of demons. His and Harlow’s lives have been entwined for over a decade, and now forced to work together, their complicated past begins to unravel.

When Judith loses her partner, she loses her life in Malta, too - including the beautiful view from her sun-warmed balcony of the sparkling blue waters of Sliema Creek. Back in England, Judith finds a spare room in her sister’s house where she grew up - but with it comes a whole host of family dramas. Nursing a broken heart, Judith knows she must find happiness again - and rebuild her life on her own terms. Could an island in the sun be the answer she is looking for?