The Handles, happily married for many years, have reached the point in their lives where easy silence, an acceptance of each other's ways, is the norm. Grace has her painting, and the children's reference book she has long been working on. William has his music and his string quartet, even if his name isn't quite spelled like the great composer.

Then Grace encounters a young man, Lucien, who adopts her, haunts her, threatens her - and provides her days with a bittersweet frisson. And William becomes so besotted by his new viola player, he decides to murder his wife ...