Julie is a disc jockey on radio and while happily presenting an afternoon programme realizes that it is the first anniversary of her friendship with Gordon. He was surely to bring her a gift, he is in the car waiting with a lovely bunch of red roses. She saves the day by promising him a surprise: an invitation to dinner.

Within a few days Gordon invites her to join his family on his mother's anniversary.  She joins in where she finds that Gordon's mother is a great fan of her programmes.  There she meets Gordon's brother Carlo who is engaged to a stunning young lady. Right from the start Julie and Carlo seem to be attracted irresistibly to each other.

Gordon, a heavy drinker is involved in a serious car accident.  Julie finds out that he has been having a love-affair with her best friend and is expecting a baby,

Julie lives with her widowed mother in a large house in Floriana. She is an only child. One day she asks her mother why she never had any brothers or sisters when all Maltese families were large ones. Her mother only answers her many days later when Julie is shocked to learn how her mother was raped on her wedding-eve.  She tries not to let such news upset her too much and in a way succeeds; yet later this poses a serious problem for her relationship with Carlo. It is a situation to which no one can ever possibly find a solution.  What happens next?

Mal-Fwieha tal-Ward is written by Lina Brockdorff and published by Horizons.