A natural curiosity

An "engrossing" novel following three women as they confront the darkness and danger of their world, by the author of The Radiant Way ( People ). Sweeping from smart London townhouses to a rundown embassy in the Middle East, from the splendors of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris to drowsy afternoons in the hills of sunny Italy, this novel tells the intertwined stories of three Cambridge-educated women living in Margaret Thatcher's England. Whether it is a conscientious social worker's quest to befriend a convicted killer; an affair with a stranger after a husband's suicide; or an attempt to rescue a friend who's been kidnapped by terrorists, this is a novel rich with dramatic events and deeply intriguing characters who find the courage to persevere through trying times, in the hopes of finding some sort of justice and truth. "[Drabble] invites us to see beyond the filth and horror of modern life to the world of possibilities in our own lives, where we also have the power to write our own endings." — Winnipeg Free Press "The diverse plotlines develop amidst an abundance of social detail about 1980s Britain, providing a rich and fascinating texture. A winner." — Library Journal