Terence Rattigans devastating masterpiece, a classic study of forbidden love, suppressed desire and the fear of loneliness but at heart a deeply moving love story. A flat in Ladbroke Grove, West London. When Hester Collyer is found by her neighbours in the aftermath of a failed suicide attempt, the story of her tempestuous affair with a former RAF pilot and the breakdown of her marriage to a High Court judge begins to emerge. With it comes a portrait of need, loneliness and long-repressed passion. Behind the fragile veneer of civility burns a brutal sense of loss and longing.