But it is also the story of a woman's inner awakening in the midst of a deepening nightmare. Maggie learns not only of the secret lives of the seemingly respectable academics around her, but also of the power of her own repressed sexuality and need for human warmth. Both invade her defenses, even though neither may be what he seems. This magnificently crafted, high-voltage tale shocks at every turn. Someone is poisoned.
Someone is strangled.
That is Rosamond Smith's secret, and with the greatest ingenuity she witholds it until the very end of her stunning novel.