Irene has a secret. It slips out inadvertently during book club when the wine has been flowing too freely. Her teenage years as a marching girl are not something she had wanted her friend Ferrida to know about. She's always wanted Ferrida's approval, for her friendship is as important and fraught asthe one with Paula, when they marched together all those years ago. But friends don't necessarily march to the same beat, and Irene finds it hard to keep step.