In this dark comedy of errors, Iris Murdoch portrays the mischief wrought by
Julius, a cynical intellectual who decides to demonstrate through a
Machiavellian experiment how easily loving couples, caring friends, and devoted
siblings can betray their loyalties. As puppet master, Julius artfully plays on
the human tendency to embrace drama and intrigue and to prefer the distraction
of confrontations to the difficult effort of communicating openly and honestly.