Heller said to The Observer in 2003 that the real life controversy of American middle-school teacher Mary Kay LeTourneau's affair with a student was the inspiration for the novel.

[2] Art teacher Bathsheba "Sheba" Hart falls in love with a 15-year-old pupil, Steven Connolly, who is from a deprived background and has literacy problems.

Although they frequently have sex in risky places, including at school and in the open on Hampstead Heath, the couple successfully conceal their affair from colleagues and family.

Barbara eventually finds out about the affair on Guy Fawkes Night, when she sees Sheba talking to Connolly on Primrose Hill.

While Sheba's life is quickly disintegrating, Barbara thrives on the new situation, which she considers her chance to prove her qualities as a friend.

She is distraught and furious, not least because Barbara has written about events she did not personally witness, and made judgements about people close to Sheba.