'Swift, witty and satirical, with a fine eye for English manners and English snobbery'

JULIAN BARNES

'It was now nearly ten years since Charles Herriton had fallen in love with Lilia Theobald because she was pretty, and during that time Mrs Herriton had hardly known a moment's rest.'

Impulsive Lilia Herriton is a vulgar source of embarrassment to her late husband's family, so her decision to embark on a year abroad in Italy with her friend Caroline Abbott is welcomed by all. But in Monteriano, a Tuscan town perched among the hills and surrounded by olive trees, Lilia scandalises her in-laws by quickly becoming engaged to a charismatic but unsuitable Italian man twelve years her junior.

Hoping to bring Lilia back to England before it's too late, her brother-in-law Philip sets out for Tuscany, but on arrival, his ideas about the town and Lilia are challenged at every turn, and he returns home in defeat.

When the marriage leads to tragedy, Philip and Caroline must once again take the winding road to Monteriano, where they are forced to examine their own values and reconsider the lives that await them back in England.