';What a terrific book. I loved its rich, recognizable characters, the intricacies and excitement of the plot, the beauty of the writing.' --Anne Lamott Reaching back to the Great Depression, and with all the insight, tenderness, and extraordinary narrative power that have been the hallmark of her writing, Alice Adams once again illuminates the workings of the human heart. When Harry and Cynthia Baird flee south from Connecticut to Pinehill, they hope to find a simpler, and cheaper, way of life, and a refuge from the burdens of their life in the North. What they find, in the small societies of a college town, each with its own intricate and beguiling etiquette is a deeper involvement in private scandals, long-held secrets, dangerous love affairs, dreams, desires, fears, betrayals.