'She was a fool and he knew it and because he loved her it had made no difference'

Kitty Fane is the beautiful but shallow wife of Walter, a bacteriologist stationed in Hong Kong. Unsatisfied by her marriage, she starts an affair with charming, attractive and exciting Charles Townsend. But when Walter discovers her deception, he exacts a strange and terrible vengeance: Kitty must accompany him to his new posting in remote mainland China, where a cholera epidemic rages...

VINTAGE DECO: Nine blazing, daring novels to celebrate the 1920s - 100 years on.

"Reveals many of Maugham's strengths: an understanding of women, meticulous craftsmanship and raw emotion'" - Daily Mail

"A work of art" - Spectator

"An expert craftsman... His style is sharp, quick, subdued, casual" - New York Times