Declan is dying from Aids.   He asks to stay with his grandmother in her basic cliff-top house in the country, taking with him his close male friends, who have nursed him caringly over the months.   His mother and sister also come to stay.   This novel reveals and examines different problem relationships and attitudes in the stifling microcosm of  Mrs Deveraux’s house.   Helen, Declan’s sister reaches an uneasy peace with the mother she has not related to for years.   Each of the characters is forced to come to terms with life, through Declan’s pain and suffering.   Shortlisted for the Booker prize, 1999.