These thirty short stories show an acknowledged master of the genre at the peak of his power. Most are set in the colonies at a time when the Empire was still assured, in a world in which men and women were caught between their own essentially European values and the richness and ambiguity of their unfamiliar surroundings, In this languid life, Maugham shows how a tiny spark of stray emotion acts as the catalyst to human tragedy.
In subtle contrast, the stories set in an English landscape provide more familiar territory and are characterised by Maugham's cool and distinctive stamp.
