A middle class English woman, Alice, joins a loose-knit group of political vagabonds and finds herself drawn into situations she never intended, radical political actions, and bombings. She acts as a housemother to them and even though she never truly articulates her own political convictions, she becomes a willing partner in the terrorist acts. "Lessing portrays terrorism as psychopathological rather than political and thereby creates a chilling, strangely and compelling story."--Library Journal. This "compulsively readable story ...vividly displays the full array of Lessing's superb gifts as a traditional writer."--Publishers Weekly