ISBN The Temporary book Paperback 256 pages

Ralph Loman works in an unsatisfying job, for a free London newspaper, when Francine Snaith, a temporary secretary for a corporate finance firm, unexpectedly crosses his path at a party. Her beauty ignites a blaze of excitement in his troubled heart. But Francine is ravenous for attention, driven by a thirst for conquest, and when Ralph tries politely to extricate himself, he finds he is bound by chains of consequence from which it seems there is no escape. The Temporary paints a merciless portrait of the cut and thrust of modern romance, work and life.

Rachel Cusk is the author of ten novels and three works of non-fiction, which have won and been shortlisted for numerous prizes. In 2015, Cusk's version of Medea was staged at the Almeida Theatre.