A novel about the reversed fortunes of Meg Eliot, a sociable, attractive wife of a wealthy barrister, who finds herself widowed in reduced circumstances after her husband is senselessly murdered at a Far Eastern airport. The narrative deals with the psychological dislocation of bereavement and unfamiliar hardship. A noted heroine of 20C British fiction, Meg has used her class and sex to dominate and charm those around her, and it is only through loss that she starts to develop real insight into her own life and character. The book is remarked upon for its sympathetic portrayal of female friendships.