Soul

Two women of the Huntington family live a century apart, and the book follows both. Lavinia lives in 19th century Britain, married to an older man who encourages her curiosity. She proves an eager pupil in his study and in their bed, and she takes real pleasure in the physical side of marriage.

Julia lives in 21st century Los Angeles and works as a geneticist. Her research aims to identify people who can kill without remorse. When she tests herself, she finds she may carry the very trait she is hunting. Her love for her husband and her happiness in her pregnancy convince her that her feelings are intact.

Then both marriages turn. Lavinia's desire for her husband deepens while his attention drifts to someone else. Julia's love proves too much for her husband, and he leaves her. Each woman is left with a passion that has nowhere to go.

The novel is a dual timeline story with erotic charge, alternating between past and present. It is emotionally intense, driven by obsession and jealousy. Each woman reasons coldly that the death of the person who hurt her would bring peace, and the decision each makes carries consequences well beyond her own lifetime.