The Men and The Girls — Joanna Trollope

Lifelong friends, now in their 60s, James and Hugh consider themselves to be very lucky to be living with attractive women 25 years their junior. All seems well until the appearance of Miss Beatrice Bachelor, a razor sharp Oxford spinster, who fuels the discontent of both women with their lives.

James Mallow, a teacher, has shared eight blissful years with Kate Bain, his junior by a good quarter century. But his devoted longtime partner appears restless these days. When James accidentally swerves into an elderly woman with his car, he is mortified. But for his girlfriend, Kate, it's a wake-up call: What is she doing with this man, twenty-five years her senior, who forgets his glasses and knocks an old lady off her bike?

James's friend, the once one of British TV most famous newsmen Hugh Hunter is faring little better with his significantly younger wife Julia. But, Hugh sees his star fading -- just as Julia's is rising through a lucrative new TV career and he has begun feeling resentful toward his seemingly perfect wife.