A brilliant romantic novel that traces the generational pulls of love and fidelity At seventeen, Ellen Melville's life is filled with passion for the suffrage movement, her mother, and Edinburgh, if not romance. Then Richard Yaverland, a successful older man, enters her life. Haunted by his own illegitimacy, Richard wants to avert the pain that left his mother a bitter woman even as he kindles a passionate romance. As Ellen and Richard tentatively try on the roles of lovers, the spark of a new relationship will inspire the people around them to consider their own connections. As West's clever and enchanting heroine falls in love, she inspires the reader to reflect on the different ways that love can change the course of our lives, for better or worse.