Volume three of the splendid British trilogy by Jane Gardam. It is loathing at first sight that binds Edward Feathers and Terry Veneering, the brightest legal minds of the British Empire, throughout their lives. As equal opponents in countless lawsuits, they already hate each other before both fall in love with the same woman. And it will take a lifetime for them to realize that they could just as easily be friends. What attracted Feathers' wife Betty to Veneering, the man with the platinum blonde hair who is married to the most beautiful woman in Hong Kong? What do these bitter enemies envy each other with such intensity? With wise calmness, Jane Gardam, one of England's most renowned writers, tells the story of the capacity for love and a late friendship.