This book follows a young Major in the British Army (and his wife) stationed in Cyprus during the British Occupation in the fifties. I found his story compelling--but a little artificial--and hers irritating. Were people really so circumspect about their thoughts and feelings in the fifties? Could such a story really have ended the way it did? At the same time, I thought the writing was excellent and I felt like the picture of the British sense of honor and privilege at the tail end of the Empire rang very true. And not surprising really to see that all the behavior on the part of troops and their superiors that we find so objectionable now are nothing new. Hard to say if we've gone downhill or not.