Prologue
Late 1960s
Sydney, Australia
It was love at first sight.
And second. And third.
Each memory was a lustrous pink pearl from a necklace she now kept locked away. Out of sight but not entirely out of mind.
The first pearl was their first meeting. She pressed so close to the glass that it fogged, blurring the outline of the pink-wrapped bundle beyond. Years of pestering her mother and now the day had come. She had a baby sister.
Finally.
She hopped on the spot. As though her sister read her mind, the tiny eyes snapped open and the little rosebud mouth opened in a yawn. She liked to think that, even then, her sister was seeking her out through the glass separating them.
The second pearl was the memory of her mother as she cradled the baby close and enclosed her in love. Had Mu
