For Frances Howe a trip to Europe was the turning point in her life: at 18, she was naive, impressionable and ready to be loved by a man who would show her a life beyond the confines of her Catholic upbringing. To Philip Armstrong she was a cool, striking girl whose reticence only added to her sexual appeal. They marry and find fulfilment until her growing success as a writer causes envy and loss of self-esteem in her husband. Can she keep her independence and success?.