The book opens with Neville celebrating her 43rd birthday and contemplating middle age now that her children are grown. Her sister, Nan, 33, a writer who has hitherto led a carefree life in London, experiences the loss of love and with it her plan for the future. And Neville's daughter Gerda, who is determined not to follow her mother's generation into the institute of marriage, finds herself at an impasse with the man she loves. British Library Women Writers 1920s.