Humiliation suffered in early youth can inflict an incurable wound on the soul and ruin the rest of your life. But this is the lot of the weak. This is not the heroine of the novel. Having stepped through the pain, she herself shapes her life and her character - strong, proud, independent. But one day she realizes that she cannot be independent... from love. The detective element gives the plot dynamism and special poignancy. For a wide range of readers.