A girl's climb up the social ladder in 1960s England. She is Carmel McBain from Lancashire, whose low-class mother pumps her with ambition. The novel follows Carmel through a convent school to university, describing her ups and downs integrating in her new milieu, and the price she pays for it.

Originally published in Great Britain by Viking; first published in the U.S.: New York : H. Holt and Co., 1996.