Diabolical Darryl Van Horne is gone, and what was once a center of license and liberation is now a “haven of wholesomeness” populated by hockey moms and househusbands acting out against the old ways of their own absent, experimenting parents. With spirits still willing but flesh weaker, the three women must confront a powerful new counterspell of conformity. In this wicked and wonderful novel, John Updike is at his very best–a legendary master of literary magic up to his old delightful tricks.