How can women effectively manage the competing demands of professional ambition, domestic responsibility, and personal well-being? Shirley Conran investigates the systemic pressures placed on women to perform perfectly in all spheres of life. Drawing on her observations of contemporary social expectations, she presents a framework for prioritizing tasks and delegating labor to reduce the burden of the 'superwoman' ideal.

Readers frequently note the practical, no-nonsense tone of the prose which aims to alleviate the guilt associated with domestic imperfection. Experts often categorize this as a representative text of the late 20th-century discourse on the challenges of the dual-career household.