Three long short stories, two of which are backgrounded by the war and the now familiar bombing of London. The first concerns wounded, discharged and returning war hero, Alan Marriot, who can find no political certainty, no personal stability; the second, Lucy Meadows, who takes in a refugee woman who is always to remain an alien, who rewards her generosity by seducing Lucy’s longstanding lover; and the third tells of a small boy’s tension and hatred after the arrival of a new baby.
