Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy (1991, Audiobook, 2 Cassettes)

Performance by Fionnula Flanagan

It began with Benny Hogan and Eve Malone, two inseparable young Irish women, growing up in the village of Knockglen.  Benny, an only child yearning to break free from her adoring parents and Eve, an orphan, abandoned to be raised by nuns, seemed an unlikely pair.  Together, Eve and Benny knew the sins and secrets behind every villager's lace curtains...  except their own.

The pair becomes a circle when Benny and Eve leave for university in Dublin, and meet beautiful Nan Mahon and Jack Foley, a doctor's handsome son.  But heartbreak and betrayal would bring the world of Knockglen and Dublin into explosive collision.  Long-hidden lies emerge to test the meaning of love and the strength of ties held witin the fragile gold bands of a...  Circle of Friends.