Maxine Barry's new novel is an epic narrative in which there are many characters connected to each other by invisible threads, whose unusual destinies the author traces over a long period of time. The reader will find everything here - selfless love, sweeping away all obstacles in its path, and burning hatred, sometimes bordering on madness, and an irrepressible thirst for power and wealth, leading to crime - in a word, M. Barry's heroes are overwhelmed by strong, truly Shakespearean, passions. Rightfully belonging to the best examples of modern Anglo-American women's prose, the novel is entertaining plot and read in one breath.