It is loathing at first sight that binds Edward Feathers and Terry Veneering, the brightest legal minds of the Empire, for a lifetime. As equal opponents in countless lawsuits, they already hate each other before they 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 has drawn Feathers' wife Betty to Veneering, 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, Gardam unfolds their story and creates the illusion of having understood these people and perhaps even life itself.