A landmark novel by an outstanding British writer, a recognized master of subtle psychological realism.
Guy Openshaw is dying, and the circle of friends and relatives, at the heart of which he stood, begins to crack under the strain. Too many depended on Guy—for intellectual and emotional support, psychologically and even materially. And now, in this complicated multi-act ballet around the hospitable home on London’s Iberi Street, a newly made beauty widow, Gertrude, becomes involved—along with her longtime friend Anna, who after twenty years of obedience left the monastery; the noble Polish émigré known as Count; the struggling artist Tim Reed; Guy’s colleagues from the Home Office, and many others…