A Sunset Touch

Plot

Roger Menheniot, a bank clerk of modest means, lives in a boarding house in London, living in a fantasy world. He believes himself to be the last of the Menheniots and dreams of living in Rosemullion, the family seat in Cornwall. He shuns the world of 1944 London, his fellow workers and neighbours, and cocoons himself in the 18th century world. He saves his meagre wages to furnish his one bedroom in style. By chance he meets Philip, who shares his name. Philip is an American and is stationed at the ancestral home during the war. When he dies he leaves money to Roger with which he fulfils his dream, and buys Rosemullion. The second part of the novel deals with Roger's transformation. For the first time he becomes involved in the lives of the people living in the nearby village, and he slowly allows sex and romance to enter his life. The novel explores what happens as he gradually realises that what he has longed for and dreamt of all his life is not enough.