‘Thank you, Kate. And thank you – all of you – for coming.’ His gaze moves over the bus, resting momentarily on each of the group. When his eyes meet Jenna’s she glances quickly away. ‘I know many of you are feeling nervous and apprehensive. You’re away from home, with a bunch of strangers, on the verge of a transformative experience. In seven days’ time, when we’re back on this bus heading to the airport, your outlook and your life will be forever changed. The burden on your soul will be lifted and when you arrive back in the UK you will be a brighter, happier, more positive person. There is nothing you cannot overcome. Nothing we cannot overcome’ – again, his eyes rest on Jenna – ‘if you put your trust in me and in each other.’

In the row to Jenna’s right, Alan, a Welsh man in his early twenties with wildly curly hair and an infectious laugh, lets out a whoop of delight and punches the air.

‘Quite.’ Tom smiles. ‘No more speeches from me for now. Sit back in your seats, enjoy the journey and don’t forget to breathe.’

He takes his seat beside Kate and the driver starts the engine. Jenna gazes out of the window as the bus pulls away from the airport. The sky is a brilliant blue, dotted with soft fluffy clouds, and the May sun warms her skin through the glass. Malta is like no other European country she’s ever visited. In the distance, the low domes of churches and the bent necks of huge metal cranes break up the clusters of cream stone, block-shaped houses. She feels as though she’s speeding through a Greek or Arabic country, but all the English street names and supermarket signs make her feel like she hasn’t left home. On either side of the bus the road is lined with squat green bushes, the leaves thick and spiky like cacti, and Catholic shrines inset into the low stone walls. She gets lost in the landscape, ignoring the familiar, concentrating on the unusual and new.

‘I can’t wait to get to Gozo,’ Erica says, jolting Jenna out of her reverie. ‘You know it’s a mythical place? It’s known as Calypso’s Isle because apparently the enchantress Calypso kept Odysseus in bliss there for seven years.’

‘I didn’t know that.’

As Erica continues to warble on about Gozo and past retreats and how she’s trying to come to terms with trust issues as a result of her father’s multiple infidelities, Jenna tunes out. She hasn’t got the headspace to deal with someone else’s issues; she can barely cope with her own. Her phone vibrates in her bag and she subtly pushes it away, towards her knees.

‘Someone’s desperate to get in touch with you,’ Erica says, as the phone continues to buzz.