"Injured at Dunkirk, Laurie Odell is recovering at a rural veterans' hospital when he meets Andrew, a conscientious objector serving as an orderly. The men find solace in their covert friendship. Then Ralph Lanyon, a mentor from Laurie's school days, appears. Through him, Laurie is drawn into a circle of gay men for whom liaisons are fleeting, and he is forced to choose between the ideals of a perfect friendship and the pleasures of experience."
"Tegen de achtergrond van de Tweede Wereldoorlog worden de verschuivende relaties geschetst tussen drie van karakter zeer verschillende mannen."
"After surviving the Dunkirk retreat a young homosexual critically examines his unorthodox life-style and personal relationships."
"Mary Renault's landmark novel about a wounded soldier who returns from the front and must choose between relationships with two very different menAfter being wounded at Dunkirk in World War II, Laurie Odell is sent back home to a rural British hospital. Standing out among the orderlies is Andrew, a bright conscientious objector raised as a Quaker. The unspoken romance between the two men is tested when Ralph, a friend of Laurie's from school, re-enters his life, introducing him into a milieu of jaded, experienced gay men. Will Laurie reconcile himself to Ralph's embrace, or can he offer Andrew."@en