Set in the French village of Pomerac and Oxford in the mid 1980s; after the collapse of his swimming pool construction business, Larry and Miriam Kendall have exiled themselves to a sleepy French village. When Miriam is summoned to her mother’s deathbed in Oxford, Larry begins to formulate an idea for the most beautiful swimming pool of all.

In the extract below, two of the novel’s characters – Dr O and Miss Bernice Atwood – go to the cinema in Oxford for a Sunday matinee screening of an Ingmar Bergman film – though not named in the text, it is clear from the description that it is Face to Face, made in 1976.