The Brooke family gathers for four days in their 18th-century English mansion to bid farewell to Philip, the patriarch around whom their lives have revolved. Frannie, the eldest daughter and heir, wants to transform the property into a natural retreat in the face of a declining world. Milo, on the other hand, dreams of turning it into a New Age paradise for the super-rich, while Isa, the youngest sister, estranged from Philip for years, attends the funeral in the midst of a relationship crisis. The secrets and feelings that emerge during those days will make them reconsider the roles they have played in the family until now.
A very well-written novel, with characters psychologically well-defined. The problem is that they are a disaster—unhappy, lacking any sense of transcendence, and all of them, at one point or another, use drugs, as if it were perfectly normal in any environment. Family wounds are an everyday occurrence.
The story ends well, but these people have no future, given how they are and behave. Many contemporary issues are touched upon: ecology, exploitation by the super-rich, all politically correct but devoid of humanity. Some sexual scenes are unpleasant.