Una pareja inglesa de recién casados, Guy y Harriet Pringle, llega a Bucarest, la llamada París del Este, en el otoño de 1939, apenas unas semanas después de la invasión alemana de Polonia. Los habitantes de esta ciudad llena de contrastes, inmersa en la incertidumbre por la guerra y la inestabilidad política, se aferran a una vibrante vida cotidiana mientras el caos se apodera de Rumanía y del resto de Europa. Entretanto, Harriet empezará a conocer realmente a su marido, un extrovertido profesor universitario que se rodea de un animado círculo social, y tratará de encontrar su lugar dentro de ese peculiar elenco formado por estirados diplomáticos, damas acaudaladas, pícaros seductores y arribistas.

Basada en las experiencias de la autora, esta obra dio inicio a su aclamada Trilogía balcánica, por la que pasaría a la historia de la literatura inglesa del siglo xx. En ella Manning capta con una habilidad extraordinaria tanto los vaivenes de un matrimonio como el complejo desarrollo de una guerra tal y como se respira en la calle. Por su agudísimo humor, su espléndido friso de personajes y su fiel recreación histórica, está considerada como una de las mejores novelas británicas sobre la segunda guerra mundial.

A newly-wed English couple, Guy and Harriet Pringle, arrive to Bucharest, the so-called Paris of the East, in the autumn of 1939, just a few weeks after the German invasion of Poland. The people of this city, immersed in the uncertainty of war and political instability, cling to a vibrant daily life full of contrasts as chaos takes hold of Romania and the rest of Europe. Meanwhile, Harriet will begin to get to know her husband, a charming university professor who surrounds himself with a lively social circle, and she will try to find her place within that peculiar cast of uptight diplomats, wealthy ladies, seductive rogues, and careerists.

Based on the experiences of the author, this work began her acclaimed Balkan Trilogy, by which she would go down in the history of 20th century English literature. In it, Manning captures with extraordinary skill both the ups and downs of marriage and the complex development of a war as it is breathed in the streets. Due to its sharp humor, its splendid cast of characters and its faithful historical recreation, it is considered one of the best British novels on World War II.

Olivia Manning produced her first novel, The Wind Changes, in 1937. She married just before the War and went abroad with her husband, R. D. Smith, a British Council lecturer in Bucharest. Her experiences there formed the basis of the work which makes up The Balkan Trilogy. As the Germans approached Athens, she and her husband evacuated to Egypt and ended up in charge of the Palestine Broadcasting Station. They returned to London in 1946 and lived there until her death in 1980. Rachel Cusk studied English at Oxford and published her first novel, Agnes's Salvation in 1993, at the age of 26. Cusk's novels have won and been shortlisted for numerous awards, and she was named one of the Best British Novelists by Granta magazine in 2003. Her version of Euripides' Medea was directed by Rupert Goold and was shortlisted for the Susan Blackburn Smith Award.