"The coastal settlement of Slangkop, near Cape Town, comes alive over weekends when mercurial Chas Fawkes holds court at Midden House. Shy, plump librarian Nina Browne is smitten even before she is invited to one of his legendary parties ... But things are not quite as they seem on the glittering surface, as Nina is about to discover. ... Finuala Dowling skilfully conjures the inhabitants of an eccentric seaside community ..."--Back cover.