Lying in bed

Is it better to hide the truth or lay it bare, to chase vengeance or simply to be comforted? Polly Samson's first book of fiction follows a cast of men and women, each carrying a past they would rather leave behind and a future they are trying to shape. Some are domineering, others timid, some exploit and some are exploited. Each understands how truth, deceit and small falsehoods can win what a person wants, or what they arguably deserve. Several stories look at the gentle untruths we tell to shield others, which often shield the teller more. Others examine the strange reasoning adults use to keep children in a state of innocence. Throughout, the collection returns to the idea of the lies we tell in our own beds.