Real people - Alison Lurie

Ilyria is a sort of Eden for writers and artists, where all practical problems can be forgotten. It is the perfect place for Janet Belle Smith to recharge her creative batteries amomg friends and kindred spirits.

This year's eagerly anticipated trip is not like the other's but Janet isn't sure why. A twenty-year-old, conventioanlly pretty college girl, Anna May, is having a devastating effect on the other guests. Gerry and Nick are escaping from their houses full of children, Ricky from his interfering mother, Charlie from his ex-wife whose alimony he cannot pay. Why are they all falling under her spell and what effect will it have on Janet?