Brian Moore burst upon the literary scene in 1955 with this moving and brilliantly observed study of a woman imprisoned by the passage of time. He went on to be hailed as one of the best fiction writers of his generation. Alone in her room in a Belfast boarding house, Judith Hearne is almost overwhelmed by loneliness. Yet she still believes there is a chance for happiness, and she waits patiently for the moment when her life will turn from sorrowful longing to joy. By chance she meets a man – the man – and her dreams take on a brighter hue, only to be dashed once more.