Sarah's husband is undergoing medical treatment in Auckland, they live in Hamilton, so are staying in a central city apartment temporarily. Sarah is walking in the Symonds Street cemetery and meets Hartley. They meet for coffee and soon begin an affair, which takes Sarah by surprise; middle-age is not meant to lend itself to passion and excitement, especially when one's husband's life is at risk. The conduct of the affair, the emotions involved from all parties, and the city of Auckland are all very finely observed with nuance and subtlety. However, a degree of menace, an impending doom, runs throughout the novel, and gradually builds in tension, until none of the characters escape unscathed. An unusually fine psychological thriller with beautifully plausible and believable psychology.