At a college in East Anglia, Jess Walker falls under the sway of the mesmerizing and rebellious Dr. Lorna Clay, whose seminars transform her thinking on life, love, and Agatha Christie. Jess also falls in with a tightly knit group of rule-breakers: Alec, a courageous South African journalist; Georgie, a seductive, pill-popping aristocrat; and Nick, a handsome geologist with layers of his own. But then a tragedy shatters their friendships and love affairs, and reveals a terrible secret. Soon Jess must face the question she fears most: what is the true cost of an extraordinary life?