This is a hopelessly naive and romantic novel, which nevertheless can engage the reader through the sheer force of its narrative. It is altogether obvious that Winsor would have liked to include scenes of explicit eroticism in her earlier novel, 'Forever Amber' yet was constrained by contemporary morals: it seems that she has made up for her earlier frustration by writing this later book which is virtually one long sex scene. It is a shame that Winsor could not allow Robert to remain a genuine gypsy; a shame also that Arabella takes a consistently subservient role in sexual activities. All the same, there is a bravery and verve about the novel which makes it worth reading, if only as a curiosity.