Amazon.com Book Description (ISBN 0552996416, Paperback)

Tucked away on a Silchester side street, the house owned by teachers Liz and Jonathan Chambers has been empty for a year. Liz, Jonathan, and their moody adolescent daughter Alice live in a dreary apartment above the private college they bought on impulse, hoping to make it a great success. To pay the mortgage they simply must sell their beloved house. Now, as debts mount, their relationship and finances are crumbling.

Unlike Jonathan, who lets things happen, Liz's need to take action leads to Marcus Witherstone, driver of a Mercedes, husband of a difficult wife, and senior partner of the firm, handling the house sale. Marcus has two splendid ideas, to rent the house instead of selling it--and have an affair with Liz. And when teenage Alice becomes infatuated with the dashing out-of-work actor and his wife who lease the property, a wicked comedy of modern marriage begins...and the asking price for a house includes a stunning renovation of dreams and hearts.