London and Oxfordshire When his stepfather dies Joseph Root returns home for the first time in years He is in the mood to settle scores To reclaim his mothers love he plots to ruin his stepbrother To achieve his goal he attempts to manipulate three young women But where feelings of the heart are concerned who is really being used Can even a man like Joseph Root learn how to loveParis during the Terror A great artist who sits on the Revolutionary committee paints the portrait of the young wife of an aristocrat and then signs the warrant for his arrestParis during the Occupation When her Jewish friend is arrested and deported a pianist uses an encore as a form of protest First published in Shenandoah Literary Magazine vol64 n1An English village present day One evening an old woman ready to end her life asks a young care worker to hear and document her confession During her youth she committed a terrible crime In making her confession the past lives again
