Shopaholic & Sister - Plot Synopsis

Plot Synopsis

The novel commences with the protagonist, Becky Bloomwood, coming to the conclusion of her extravagant ten month-long honeymoon around the world with her husband, Luke. Although the newlyweds have been enjoying themselves, Luke and Becky (née Bloomwood) decide it is time to return home to England and to follow a normal way of life. Before returning home, the couple embark upon a brief trip to Milan, where Luke is due to meet a potential client. After agreeing with Luke that she will not buy anything in Milan, Becky explores the city. She manages to buy Luke a new leather belt, wanting to replaced the one she ruined with the hot wax. Becky's resolve is weakened, however, when encounters what she feels as being the chance of a lifetime - the opportunity to possess an Angel handbag, the bag of the season which she simply is determined to purchase. Unfortunately, the clerk tells her that there is a waiting list for the bag and has to be put on there. A wealthy businessman, Nathan Temple, helps Becky jump to the head of the waiting list, because the owner and him are friends. She shows her gratitude by promising to pay him back somehow. Becky gives Luke a new belt, which he's pleased with believing she has changed.

Back in England, Becky and Luke stop to visit the Bloomwood family and surprise them with their early return. Becky is shocked and dismayed when her parents appear to be hiding something. Not only that, but they are not impressed with Becky's gifts and don't seem as excited as Becky had hoped. The next day, Luke and Becky attend the christening of Suze's twins. Unfortunately, Suze has befriended a local woman, Lulu. Becky feels isolated from Suze because Lulu is a mother of four and she feels that Suze and Lulu have more in common.

Becky's troubles become worse when two trucks full of her souvenirs she has accumulated from her trip arrive. The bills for them are outrageous. With her new job not due to start for several months, Luke orders Becky to sort things out around the house with her spare time. Luke immediately switches back into business-mode, cutting his hair, becoming more efficient and donning expensive suits.

Becky's parents arrive with big news. They explain that they did not want to tell Becky initially, but she has a half-sister from a previous relationship of her father's. Becky is ecstatic - she claims that she has felt a hole in her life and has always wanted a sister. She imagines going shopping together, enjoying girls' nights in, and having a new best friend to replace Suze. Becky is, however, slightly disappointed when she meets Jess. It turns out that Jess is studious, thrifty, and a bit standoffish. Jess tries to encourage Becky to save money; Becky can't comprehend why Jess doesn't want to do anything fun. When Becky overhears Luke saying that she is hard to live with, she is shocked and thinks that her marriage is falling apart. Luke is also livid when he discovers that she had arranged a meeting for him to see Nathan Temple whom he's not happy about seeing and the fact Becky had gotten an Angel handbag. After he leaves for Cyprus, she reads the lists of problems he has with her and realises that her marriage has fallen apart.

After a falling-out with Jess, Becky has a nightmare about transforming into her worst enemy, Alicia, in a fancy pink suit and had a selfish sneer on her face. She was laughing and taunting her half-sister for being boring, which crushes her. After that, Becky decides to go to Jess' home in Northern England to learn to be thrifty and make amends with her. During that time, a friendly neighbor shows her, Jess' true passion in a cupboard similar to her shoe collection, but it's filled with rocks. Becky realises her mistake in not giving her half-sister a chance to explain her passion in collecting rocks, calling it boring and a waste of time. Jess has departed on a mountain climb on a gloomy day, and she follows to try to catch up. Unfortunately, Becky is wearing the incorrect footwear to embark upon a hike of that magnitude. She ends up not following the trail and has a nasty fall in dreadful weather. Luckily, Jess has the mental and moral fortitude to watch over her. Becky realises that she had been a spoiled brat all her life, while her half-sister had to learn the value of money and fend for herself when she was young. The two girls discover that though their interests are drastically different, they share the same level of passion for their hobbies. Becky is finally able to give Jess the silver bean Tiffany necklace that she bought for her as a gift.

The book concludes with Becky finally relishing in the pleasures being thrifty and frugal. She and Suze are helping Jess organize a protest against a new shopping mall (which turns out to be one of Luke's new clients). Eventually someone finds Becky's Angel handbag and it's returned to her. She refused to accept it, reasoning it was the source of all the troubles it caused her when both Jess and Luke turned away from her. Becky then discovers that she is pregnant.