After surviving breast cancer, she travels to the fictional Caribbean island St. Antoine to carry out research for an article.

Rennie tries to stay away from politics, but is drawn into events through her romance with Paul, a key player in the uprising, and ends up in a survival struggle.

As in many of the heroines of Atwood's novels, Rennie is addicted to negative relationships.

She feels "hooked like a junkie" to her relationship with Jake, and becomes unable to distinguish between sadomasochism and genuine aggression.

And there are sometimes wry, sometimes brutal side-trips into the anomie of modern life, not to mention barefoot treks through the sifting sand of sexual relationships, that are worth the time.