Who is Philippa? Why does she want to find out who her birth parents were? What does she believe is her birth parents' story? Why does Philippa believe this? What is the truth? How does Philippa learn the truth? Why? What is Philippa's main focus when she learns this truth? Why does Philippa choose not to focus on the unfortunate parts of her mother's story?

Who is Maurice? Why does Maurice lie to his wife about his ability to have children? Why does he finally tell her the truth? How does his wife take this truth? How has Maurice's learning about his inability to have children affected his life? How has this affected his ability to deal with the people closest to him? Why?

Who is Hilda? Why does she love to cook so much? Why does she dislike her job working in the...