Britains beloved bestselling author delivers a droll comedy of manners in a story of desire and dalliances in a provincial English town Los Angeles Times Laura Thornby is the kind of woman every man wantsdespite their better judgment Urbane seductively aloof and charmingly intrusive she is the older woman every younger man dreams of bedding if not wedding When Claud Bannister meets Laura at a concert he cannot get her out of his mind And she cannot resist the chance to interfere in his life As Laura begins molding Claud into a new man from finding him a new place to live to orchestrating his attempts to become a novelist her influence over him is undeniable But his impact on her is underestimated As the situation slowly spirals out of Lauras carefully constructed control both of them will discover more about themselvesand their connection to each otherthan they ever realized before Crackling with wit and sizzling with romance this mordantly humorous take on uppermiddleclass British life has a sharp and entertaining edge only Mary Wesley could hone Publishers Weekly