Julia and her husband, Roddy Davenant, along with their young son, Oliver, and Roddy's cousin, Eleanor, are temporarily living at Mrs. Lippincote's, a house filled with old mahogany furniture and other reminders of earlier wealth.

Julia and the others have joined Roddy, who is an officer in the Royal Air Force.

Roddy, a "leader of men," requires that she fulfil her role impeccably.

Julia accepts the pompousness of Armed forces service life, but her honesty and sense of humour prevent her from taking her role too seriously.

"[2] In a retrospective of Taylor, The Guardian wrote the book "was for many years well reviewed and commercially successful.