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May appears in Shepherd's Bush

The protagonist and narrator of the first story, She is an underpaid hotel manager in Dublin, Ireland, who finds herself pregnant by her boss.

Rita appears in Notting Hill Gate

The first competent temporary worker hired by the newspaper in months, she is a big, tough, black woman from the West Indies.

Mona Lewis appears in Stockwell

She vomits when she receives the diagnosis of inoperable cancer that will kill her before Christmas.

Sophie appears in Marble Arch

She runs a store-front selling leather goods and resents being a minority speaker of English in the neighborhood but recognizes that wealthy foreigners are her best customers.

Olive appears in Pemlico

People had thought her crazy when, at age thirty, she buys a seedy hotel to fulfill her lifelong dream.

Celia appears in Shepherd's Bush

A resident of Shepherd's Bush, she is the only person...

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