But these are qualities which her family and friends may not be able to supply... Elizabeth Berridge's crisp and distinctly English style of writing established her as one of the most significant novelists of the post-war years.

It is the late 1950s; the social milieu is London's colonies of artists and writers. Penelope's husband has died suddenly and needlessly, and she is left to face an uncertain future. She needs understanding, acceptance, the chance to express an identity of her own rather than as one half of a partnership.