Introduced by J.B. Pick.

A young man, haunted by the death of his mother, tries to break free with a night on the town, and falls immediately in love with the first girl he meets.

The novel, set between two World Wars, charts the love affair and courtship of two people, David and Jessie, worlds apart in culture, upbringing, aspirations, attitudes and temperament. It was based from the start upon concealment and deception, laced with an innocence which left them unprotected.

David could be seen as a charming manipulator trying to force Jessie into his mother's mould, and Jessie as a predator seeking to use David to escape from a feckless father and bed-ridden mother. The denouement is sharp, sad and realistic, recounted in a penetrating style unusual for its day.