In 1983 in a south Tipperary town two 18-year-olds take a tentative step into the future: Mary to study accountancy, Cathy to become an au pair in Brittany. For the following year they exchange long gossipy letters.

Their letters are touching, funny, tender and gutsy, showing them sustaining a friendship across the miles, starting to grow up and to realise that the world is a more complex, challenging and exciting place than they had imagined.

The letters also capture an era - the time of Kajagoogoo, Culture Club, Dynasty and Ronald Reagan - with charm, humour, pathos and a sense of wonderment about the future.