The novel centres on Yvonne Carmichael, an eminent geneticist in her early 50s, and begins with her giving evidence to a Parliamentary Select Committee.On her way out of the building, the happily marrThe novel centres on Yvonne Carmichael, an eminent geneticist in her early 50s, and begins with her giving evidence to a Parliamentary Select Committee.On her way out of the building, the happily married Carmichael catches the eye of a man and they have sex in the crypt chapel – an event that has disastrous consequences for her.