Marian couldn't see the woman's eyes behind her glasses, and was filled with panic. That bosom was not for comfort. Not for Marian. She, Marian, was here so that this woman, this psychologist, could expose her failure to be a proper mother.' Her son's actions shatter Marian's life. As the days pass she is haunted by layers of grief rising like the salt of the degraded earth. Marian's everyday heroism, her earthy humour and innate honesty, sustain her as she confronts her own tragedy and sees be