All Liz Houston wants is to keep her head above the financial white waters of her life. Somehow, though, other people, including ex-husband Hugh, repeatedly get in the way. Hugh just wants a quiet life and to be there for the people he cares about. Caring for Liz does not lead to a quiet life. Moocher, Liz's Border Collie, wants to be where all the crumbs are, he wants to keep all his paws, but most of all he wants to keep Liz company as she rides the rapids of her life. Add in odd-shoe-wearing lodger Simon, Git-next-door, a lost brother, an illicit fortune stashed away decades ago, a trio of part-time thugs, kidnappings, a tree-climbing tortoise and a dog-flap with a story of its own, and it becomes apparent that a few white lies (and custard creams) between friends are the least of Liz's problems. Jill Mansell (internationally best-selling author) said of this book: "Susan Alison has written a lovely, quirky romp packed with off-the-wall characters - original, intriguing and great fun " Susan Alison is the Katie Fforde Bursary Award winner for 2011. She has won competition awards for short fiction and sold numerous stories to commercial publications. Her fiction concentrates on the relationships humans forge with each other (and quite often with their dogs). She is a freelance artist.