It often strikes me that a disproportionate number of SF writers in the short bios mention that they are cat owners. Georgina Bruce gets as far away as that cosy image as can be possible, in a dark, very dark story, a long way from the ballad of lost c’mell.
The story starts with a pair of young sisters eking out a living in a post-something society in a very near future. As the story progresses it slowly dawns on the reader exactly what is going on, it gets into very dark territory indeed. A great read.