Elizabeth Hunter, an ex-socialite in her 80s, has a mystical experience during a summer storm in Sydney which transforms all her relationships - her existence becomes charged with a meaning which communicates itself to those around her.From this simple scenario, Patrick White unfurls a monumental exploration of the tides of love and hate, comedy and tragedy, impotence and longing that fester within family relationships.In the Sydney suburb of Centennial Park, three nurses, a housekeeper and a solicitor attend to Elizabeth, as her son and daughter convene at her deathbed. But, in death as in life, Elizabeth remains a destructive force on those who surround her.
