Former stressed-out city girl and journalist Emma is living the dream. She's in Malaysia, living on a yacht with handsome traveller Guy, and together they have plans to explore the world's most remote and exotic places. Alright, so she has to ignore the niggling doubt that things didn't quite work out the last time she went to stay with a stranger on his boat in Asia, but she's quietly confident that this time things will be different.

She and Guy are literally sailing into the sunset together. Adventures in Asia, America and the Caribbean beckon. Life, free from the rat race and nine-to-five grind, couldn't be more perfect. Or could it?

Eventually forced to return to London, to her old, crippling, fast-paced world, Emma finds herself struggling with anxiety and panic attacks and losing the battle between head and heart. Running, or sailing, away is just not an option any more.

Untie the Lines, the sequel to Casting Off, is a beautifully written, often funny, story for those who dream of escape, adventure and an unshackled life. But it is also a deeply moving tale about recognising the need to be true to yourself, and to live a balanced life - for without balance, we fall.