Olejar Books

Bel and Tom have been together for many years and their life seems charmed. Beautiful, successful and in love, all is rosy in paradise. Until Bel can't get pregnant. Afraid that the problem might be his, Tom gets angry rather than seek help and instead of going to a doctor, he starts frequenting a casino.
The early wins give way to frequent losses, his addiction and financial trouble lead to more desperate measures and he is soon embroiled in seriously murky work, acting as a courier for the crime boss who runs the casino. Bel is baffled as to what has become of her formerly lovely husband, they become increasingly distant until finally Tom stops coming home and disappears for good.
Against the odds, Bel is pregnant, but she never gets to tell Tom and has instead to make a life as a single parent, an issue complicated by having to cope with the practical, financial and criminal ramifications of his disappearance. She, and others, assume infidelity, his and hers to be the cause of his disappearance and debts. The criminal boss assumes he has eloped with cash and that Bel is the key. But Tom is instead destitute and running from everything. Separately their lives run along, Bel in Dublin, Tom in London and the years pass.