The apathy of Sunday lay upon the streets. Houses were closed, withdrawn.
They don't know, he thought, those people inside, how one gesture of
mine, now, at this minute, might alter their world. A knock on the door,
and someone answers - a woman yawning, an old man in carpet slippers, a
child sent by its parents in irritation; and according to what I will, what
I decide, their whole future will be decided . . . Sudden murder. Theft.
Fire. It was as simple as that.' In this collection of suspenseful tales
in which fantasies, murderous dreams and half-forgotten worlds are exposed,
Daphne du Maurier explores the boundaries of reality and imagination. Her
characters are caught at those moments when the delicate link between
reason and emotion has been stretched to the breaking point. Often
chilling, sometimes poignant, these stories display the full range of
Daphne du Maurier's considerable talent.