At the centre of this beautifully crafted novel is a melancholy tale of an intense love affair. Anne is a hotel waitress in a small French town. Subject to the unwelcome advances of both staff and patrons, she herself is drawn to a local lawyer, Charles Hartman. Recently married, Hartman has been no stranger to romantic intrigue, but as Anne’s tragic past is revealed he finds himself in the grip of emotions far more powerful than he has known before. The book captures the uneasy calm in France between two wars. With its finely drawn characters and exploration of morality it recalls the great French novels of Flaubert and Balzac. It is, however, an original and strangely haunting story which confirms Sebastian Faulks as a writer of exceptional power.