[1][2] A female narrator, M, invites a famous painter, L, to use her guesthouse on the English coast marshlands where she lives with her family.

It is inspired by Mabel Dodge Luhan's 1932 memoir Lorenzo in Taos, about the writer D. H. Lawrence's early 1920s sojourn in Taos, New Mexico.

[4] In its starred review, Kirkus Reviews wrote that Cusk's "brilliant prose and piercing insights convey a dark but compelling view of human nature.

"[5] Publishers Weekly, in its starred review, wrote, "There is the erudition of the author's Outline trilogy here, but with a tightly contained dramatic narrative.

[9] Blandine Longre's French translation was awarded the 2022 Prix Femina étranger.