'What Alec needs is another child,' said Phyllis firmly. 'I know,' agreed Laura, 'but I may never be able to have one...' And so Laura, at thirty-seven, undergoes an exploratory operation. To recuperate, she is sent with relatives while her husband - with her blessing - takes his annual fishing holiday in Scotland. But even in as gracious a house as Tremenheere - on the very tip of Cornwall, just minutes from the brilliant, sparkling sea - the prospect of two weeks alone with her husband's people is a very daunting one. For Laura has never really believed that she quite fits in, has never felt truly free of the unseen presence of Alec's first wife and the daughter who never replies to his letters...