The Longest Dance — Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

When young maverick Hamil Strathearne and mysterious, coolly English beauty Olivia meet within the conventional frame of 1950s middle-class Edinburgh, their passion for one another promises to last for a lifetime. Hamish quickly becomes obsessed and Olivia, for all her secrets, appears to feel the same way. But not everything in life goes to plan.Hamil is a talented musician who begins to make his name with high-profile orchestras. Olivia marries his brother Ewan, a tortured genius, in an effort to save him from the destructive path he has chosen. Yet as their worlds move in opposite directions, colliding for mere brief, passionate moments, it becomes increasingly apparent that the lives and marriages Hamil and Olivia have subsequently created hold no weight compared with the intensity of their feelings for one another. It is one thing to blame human weakness for the choices we make, but quite another to rail against Fate.