Four men once close to Jack Dodds, a London butcher, meet to carry out his peculiar last wish: to have his ashes scattered into the sea. For reasons best known to herself, Jack's widow, Amy, declines to join them.

An academic sits alone in his college room thinking about the people he has lost. Powerful memories crowd in on him — childhood days in Paris; his exuberant, glamorous mother; his mysterious father; and the brash young American who becomes his step-father. Mingled with this emerges a tender portrait of his relationship with his actress wife. Ever After is a poignant elegy to lost faith and lost hope. It is also a powerful affirmation of love. 'Once in a precious while you read a novel which, every few chapters, makes you shiver with self-recognition. Ever After is such a novel' — Daily Mail. 'Swift is set apart by his acute observation and thrilling exactness of description... Exceptional' — The Times.