Augusta and Owen are living a quiet country life of companionship and artistic creation--she a painter, he a writer--until Alison, a beautiful British woman, moves in to the previously unoccupied cottage next door. As Gus and Owen's life becomes intertwined with Alison's, past betrayals, losses, and new desires come to a head. A remarkably insightful, gorgeously written, unforgettable portrait of a marriage, of mature love, of desire, of regret, and forgiveness, this is a "a magnificent literary achievement" (Karen Russell) by a writer working at the top of her form.