Nan is a young novelist who has a large family. Her grandmother lives with her widowed mother (a woman who doesn't know what to do with herself now that her children are grown). Her sister, Neville, is similarly in the same predicament (her children having grown and are attending University), except that her husband is too busy pursuing his career to pay any attention to her. She returns to college to spend her copious spare time, only to discover that her brain was not as brilliant as it was in her earlier years.

So Nan, having to deal with all her family members, decides that she is ready for commitment. The only problem is, she's waited too long! Her boyfriend has fallen in love with Neville's daughter, her own niece. And now she must put her life back together in the midst of all the chaos that surrounds her.

Rose Macaulay was an English novelist who published more than thirty-five novels. Her works are best known for dealing with women's social stature and problems. Her most noted and final work, The Towers of Trebizod, is considered her masterpiece.