SEVEN former high school classmates meet up after almost three decades apart for the wedding of Bridget and Bill, high school sweethearts who were separated in their youth and found each other again.

The wedding is made even more poignant because Bridget has breast cancer.

Underlying the wedding is the memories they all share of their student friend Stephen who died as a teenager in a tragic drowning accident.

All the friends harbour unresolved regrets and disappointments.

For example, Agnes is a single English teacher who pines for her absent lover, the group's former English teacher.

This is a secret she spills to her friends after drinking too much at the wedding reception.

A bonus with this book is that we get a story within a story, one that Agnes is writing. She tells the story of the Halifax harbour explosion, which involves a young eye surgeon who witnesses the ship's explosion then ends up marrying his hostess who was blinded by it. This story is as compelling as the wedding storyline, if not more so.

This novel feels like a family drama with a dose of soap opera thrown in.

A very readable and beautifully written book.