I loved this book and could hardly put it down. The importance of maintaining personal integrity was the dominating theme. Also, the author illustrates through the lives of his characters how each choice we make can determine the whole entire course of the rest of our lives...even something as insignificant as choosing which socks to put on in the morning! The story was emotionally draining, as would be expected of a tragedy. But the writing was beautiful. Richard Mason has a beautiful command of the English language. I enjoyed reading this book as much for the aesthetic experience as to find out what was going to happen next in the character's lives. I am eagerly awaiting more works from this promising young (22 year old) British author! However, I will take in some lighter reading in the meanwhile!