Stephen Richards has built a cosmetics empire, but when he suffers a stroke, his family's secrets and lies rise to the surface and the future of his multi-million-pound company is at stake.

Now hiring: top girls wanted for prestige positions. Must be self-motivated go-getters with an appetite for success. No timewasters. Marlene is the first woman to head the Top Girls employment agency. But she has no plans to stop there. With Maggie in at Number 10 and a spirit of optimism consuming the country, Marlene knows that the future belongs to women like her.

Follows the lives of four female friends and their involvement in an array of marital and extramarital relationships.