Hidden away in an Oxford back street is a crumbling Georgian mansion,
unknown to any but the few who possess a key to its unassuming front gate.
Its owner is the mercurial, charismatic Mark Winters, whose rackety trust-
fund upbringing has left him as troubled and unpredictable as he is wildly
promiscuous. Mark gathers around him an impressionable group of students:
glamorous Emmanuella, who always has a new boyfriend in tow; Franny and
Simon, best friends and occasional lovers; musician Jess, whose calm
exterior hides passionate depths. And James, already damaged by Oxford and
looking for a group to belong to. For a time they live in a charmed world
of learning and parties and love affairs. But university is no grounding
for adult life, and when, years later, tragedy strikes they are entirely
unprepared. Universal in its themes of ambition, desire and betrayal, this
spellbinding novel reflects the truth that the lessons life teaches often
come too late.