Flora and Tally first meet as schoolgirls in 1947, at Beechlawn Girls' College. Theirs is an unlikely friendship, born of the fact that both girls are outsiders. Flora's mother is a war widow, struggling to make ends meet, whilst Tally is really Lady Atalanta Ashby, rich and privileged, yet lonely. On leaving school the two girls share a flat in London, and their friendship is cemented during those exhilarating years of independence, self-discovery and first love. To Flora it seems that Tally wants for nothing - courted by the richest, most handsome young men in town - whilst she pines hopelessly after Tally's dashing step-brother, Nicholas. In the years to come the bond between them will be tested to the full, as each embarks upon their personal quest for love and happiness...Beautifully written and exquisitely crafted, Rosebuds is a memorable portrait of English society in the postwar era.