Full of sexual torment, jealousy, and impossible-to-resolve longing, this novel from "one of the outstanding writers of the world" (The New York Times) presents a riveting portrait of the corrosive power of frustrated desire.

The protaganist is Etsuko, a young widow whose philandering husband died horribly from typhoid. After moving into the house of her father-in-law, her misery deepens as she numbly submits to the old man's advances. But soon Etsuko falls in love with the young servant, Saburo. Tormented by his indifference yet invigorated by her anguish, she makes one last, catastrophic, bid for his attentions.