This memoir investigates the complex personal and professional dynamics of living and working alongside one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, Pablo Picasso. Francoise Gilot, an accomplished painter in her own right, provides a detailed account of her decade-long relationship with Picasso. Collaborating with journalist Carlton Lake, Gilot utilizes her firsthand observations and personal archives to document the daily realities, creative processes, and volatile temperament of the artist during the mid-1940s and 1950s.

Art historians and critics frequently cite this work as a primary source for understanding the private life of Picasso during his later years. Readers often note the candid nature of the prose, which balances personal intimacy with a clinical observation of the artist's creative temperament.