'Life is only worth living because we hope it will get better and we'll all get home safely"

When beautiful Kitty Finch lands in the middle of what seems a conventional holiday set up - two couples, one teenage daughter and a villa in the south of France - no-one quite knows the effect she will have, though at once the ground shifts.

In the fierce heat of July, fissures yawn open, prised apart by Kitty's unsettling presence. Is she benign? What does she want? Is she an admiring fan or a darker foe? And who is keeping secrets, most of all from themselves?

Deborah Levy's first novel in fifteen years has garnered much praise. Witty and acute by turn, its deceptively simple setting belies the fractured relationships and the sense of imminent chaos that threatens all the characters. In today's episode: 'Especially when it rains'.

Abridged by Sally Marmion
Produced by Di Speirs
Directed by Elizabeth Allard
The Reader is Juliet Aubrey. Show less