This book is based on The Tatler column, Candid Counsel and like the column it offers advice to readers suffering from personal difficulties and problems of contemporary protocol. Advice is culled from the author's experiences at the helm of high society. Mary Killen provides observations on various areas of modern life such as house parties, dinner parties, holidays, the Opera, romance and children, and deals with topics including unpleasant personal defects, coping with excessive personal popularity, meanness, cellulite and weddings. Mary Killen writes Candid Counsel for The Tatler and contributes to other magazines.