Extraordinary....There is a subtly gothic flavour to this story,not unlike Henry James with its brooding atmosphere of menace and inevitability. The language is crisp and evocative,the details marvellously placed. Shreve has shown herself to be a sophisticated--and on occasion, wryly humorous---observer.We do not simply experience the characters, fascinating as they are, we experience a whole world But there is no sense of melodrama to cheapen this thoughtful, well-constructed novel.This is a quiet tragedy.

In the wake of such acclaimed #t bestsellers as The Pilot's Wife,The Last Time They Met, and Sea G/ass. Anita Shreve gives us abrilliant new novel about love, jealousy, and loss. It is the story of a man whose obsession with a young woman begins when he meets her fleetingly - as he helps her escape from a fire in a restaurant - and culminates in a marriage doomed by secrets and betrayal. Written with the intelligence and grace that are Anita Shreye's hallmarks, this gripping tale is peopled by unforgettable characters as real as the emotions that bring them together.