Rosamunde Pilcher: Nie wieder Klassentreffen (2017)

The 1996 graduating class gathers at Kate and Daniel’s for their 20-year reunion. The couple make cider together and have always hosted their class reunions. Sandra is attending for the first time, after ending her affair with her married boss and quitting her job. Early on, she runs into Luke, a former school friend. They used to be in love with each other without knowing the other felt the same way. They drive to the reunion together and pretend to be a couple to avoid awkward questions. Luke and Daniel have both received a threatening letter from someone who calls themself Robin Hood in the letter. Someone has discovered that, back then, the two of them used money from the class fund to play the lottery and split the £30,000 winnings between themselves instead of sharing them with everyone. A lead soon points to the manager of the local bank branch, who is in financial difficulty, and they are able to reach a settlement with him that is acceptable to everyone involved. After more than twenty years together, Daniel and Kate finally want to get married. But then Kate’s conscience gets the better of her. She does not want to enter the marriage with a lie, and wants to tell him that he is not the biological father of their 19-year-old son, Paul—a truth she has never been able to bring herself to tell him. Luke is the father, and he is shocked to learn this. Daniel is very angry at first, but the two friends soon reconcile, and Luke is the photographer at the wedding. Sandra’s mother, Mary, has been examined because of her frequent headaches. She has a brain aneurysm, whose surgical removal would carry a high risk. Soon after, she tells her daughter the news. Mary is friends with Kate and, after a conversation, also thinks Sandra is in a relationship with Luke. So their pretend romance continues, and over the course of the story it actually becomes real. Mary decides to have the operation despite the risk. Four months later, Sandra visits her mother again and learns that the operation and her mother’s rehabilitation have gone perfectly. At the same time, she tells her mother that she is pregnant by Luke, fulfilling her mother’s secret, long-held wish for grandchildren.