Morris West s magnificent new novel

is a story of love, sexual obsession, mur-

der, guih and the absolute need for

forgiveness as a condition of human

sanity. Its extraordinary power will

give the author an even wider audience

than before.

This novel is about one man and three

women in a conflict that explores the

fine line between love and hate, good

and evil, fantasy and reality.

The narrative is [ounded on fact: a

case history recorded in the autobiog-

raphy of Carl Gustav Jung. His ac-

count is brief and curiously cryptic:

" A lady came to my office. She refused

to give her name.., what she had to

communicate to me was a confession,"

Morris West s version of the en-

counter is a fascinating blend of truth

and dramatic speculation. The events

cover the golden time of the Belle

Epoque, right up to the twilight year

1913, before the lights went out over

Europe and the First World War began.

This was a year of crisis for.Jung. He

was estranged fronl his old friend and

master, Freud. His wife was pregnant

with their fifth child. He had begun a