Publisher's Synopsis
The novel follows the fortunes of four women, all in one way or another 'fallen leaves', who are linked by their relationships with the hero, Amelius Goldenheart, and also by secrets from the past. Their histories are looked at from two perspectives: that of the ruthless capitalist society of England in which they live, and that of the Christian Socialism of the hero who has been brought up in a Utopian community in America. Amelius Goldheart is banished from his Christian community is Illinois. He travels to England to live with his uncle John. His uncle's wife wants to find the answer to the disappearance of her child and for that reason Amelius's niece is kept away from him. Amelius glimpses his uncle's daughter and is fascinated by her.
