A Ruth Rendell mystery, first published in 1979 and shortlisted for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for best crime novel in 1980.Alan Groombridge is trapped. Husband to a woman he doesn't like, father to two children he never wanted, and manager of a tiny branch of the Anglian-Victoria bank, he is doomed to a life of domestic boredom and tedious routine. All that keeps him afloat is his one fantasy: ste...