A witty novel about the changing balance of power among friends when live-in relationships lead to marriages.

Simone "Sim" Purdy is the linchpin of a postcollege circle of friends, established couples, who are thrown into unexpected turmoil when one of them sets a wedding date. This catalyst for change is something Sim is determined to resist to the extent of her not insubstantial powers. Her equanimity rests on the foundation of: Vanessa & Nicholas, Matt & Lucy, Eve & Campbell, and Hazel, her shy neighbor, alone. (Sim's single slip -- a one-night stand with Andrew Johnson, who now lives with Gillian -- is never to be mentioned, lest it jeopardize her own relationship with Francis.)

When Campbell leaves Eve for the hideous Rory Napper, Sim enlists them all in an effort to restore the previous status quo. But Eve has begun to suspect that she might actually be better off with someone new. Sim's efforts threaten to backfire, but she will not be permanently subdued.