This is a story of two young people who fall in love
- & then life gets in the way Ursula is part dreamer part radical in the making Raised in a matriarchal household by a CND-loving activist she is impatient to begin a life of adventure But this is Newcastle in the mid-80s where girls are getting permed & their dreams go no further than copping off down the Bigg Market Then Ursula meets Jerry a class warrior from the wrong side of town intellectually hungry erudite & ambitious It is a meeting of bodies souls minds & ideals Keen to pursue the road less travelled Ursula heads to India while Jerry goes to Oxford & the promise of politics & power As Ursula searches for answers she is soon drifting
- & Jerry loses touch What happens to young love when it is tested by real life? The Lightning Tree is a lyrical & funny novel for fans of The Line of Beauty & The Marriage Plot