Harriet and David Lovatt’s vision of a perfect, traditional family life is shattered when their fifth child, Ben, is born with a disturbing, predatory nature. The couple, who initially pride themselves on their ability to create an idyllic domestic sanctuary, find their resources and sanity pushed to the breaking point by Ben’s physical strength and lack of empathy. As the child grows, he becomes a source of terror for his siblings and a wedge between his parents, forcing them to confront the fragility of their social ideals. The narrative, told with a detached, clinical precision, tracks the slow disintegration of the family unit under the weight of an inexplicable, monstrous presence.

This novel is widely regarded as a chilling examination of the limits of parental love and the fragility of bourgeois domesticity. Critics often highlight how Lessing uses the premise to subvert traditional family narratives, turning the domestic space into a site of profound unease. Readers frequently note the discomfort caused by the book’s refusal to provide easy answers or a moral resolution regarding the child's nature. The work remains a significant entry in the author's bibliography for its ability to blend psychological realism with elements of the uncanny.