In an English seaside town, lovers & children, young men & middle-aged women, weave in & out of each other`s lives & stories. A mother is tormented by her daughter`s tattoo; another only pretends to love her baby. A wife stalks her husband & his new lover; a broken egg through a letterbox tells a story that will not go away; the cat thinks he knows best. Threaded throughout are longings for love & poignant disappointments, surprising pleasures & temptations. Some will fall but some, like the small boy at the circus who sees his babysitter fly past on a trapeze wearing little more than a blue bra & spangles, will retain their feeling of awe. PERFECT LIVES, follows Polly Samson`s rapturously received first collection, LYING IN BED. They are rueful, knowing, witty, poignant, bashful, bold. Her genius is in the nuance.