Erica and Laure meet on the steps of the Sacr�-C�ur in Paris, 1978. Erica is a student, relishing her first summer abroad before beginning university at home in England. Laure is studying for her PhD at the Sorbonne, drinking and smoking far too much, and sleeping with a married woman. The moment the two women meet the spark is undeniable: but their encounter turns into far more than a summer of love. It is the beginning of a relationship that will define their lives and every decision they have yet to make . . . Erica and Laure's love story spans decades, marriage, children, secret trysts, and the agonising changes - both personal and political - that might mean they can be together, after all. But when life brings them within touching distance again, will they be brave enough to seize a future together? Almost Life is a story of longing for the paths not taken, and the almost lives we live.