True Romance

She arrives from overseas with nothing: young, penniless, and in need of somewhere to belong. Her rootless, faintly sweet-scented existence leaves her poorly placed to cope with hardship, so she takes refuge in a grand house in Little Venice, owned by Max. He is wealthy, vain and quietly cruel. Willing to please him, she allows him to indulge his appetites, reasoning that many ways of getting by are far worse than the comfort he offers her, such as a damp, friendless wait on a bed in the same neighbourhood.

The arrangement changes when Max brings in Bruno, who is younger, rougher and less refined, and invites him into the household. The three are drawn into an intricate, dangerous game in which cruelty and wit serve as weapons. The novel builds toward a final revelation about one of its characters.