Two friends fall under the spell of a New York beauty - with quite unexpected results. An offhand remark is taken seriously by a Chinese sculptor, and a British diplomat becomes the owner of a priceless work of art. An insurance claims advisor has a most surprising encounter on the train home to Sevenoaks.

The openings to three of this marvellous collection of stories that ends with a hauntingly-written, atmospheric account of two undergraduates at Oxford in the thirties, a tale of bitter rivalry that ends in a memorable love story.

'Stylish, witty and constantly entertaining . . . Jeffrey Archer has a natural aptitude for short stories' THE TIMES