Foreword
What causes a married woman in her mid-thirties to go on a sex spree with inexperienced younger men? This type of behavior is by no means uncommon. It has been with us throughout the recorded history of human behavior. And psychologists tell us that the reasons for this type of behavior are as varied as the individual women who participate in this type of conduct.
In this novel the author illustrates this type of behavior and touches on many of the common factors that are often considered to contribute to the behavioral pattern. At the same time, the point is clearly made that no one single factor is entirely responsible for the pattern.
What we see in Christine Gorman's almost frantic sexual escapades is an interesting blend of factors. In the beginning, what starts as a relatively harmless and entirely normal flirtation quickly builds to the living out of a fantasy. And this is really only the first step onto the famous tread-mill to oblivion. For Christine, it is the beginning of the end.
She recognizes this, but she refuses to accept it and forces it into her subconscious mind. The reader recognizes, however, that it is already much too late for Christine. She has, through her actions, chosen a path that modern scientists would describe as a "self-destruct mode."
The author deals briefly and sharply with the law of cause and effect in relation to both social and psycho-sexual behavior. Absolutists in our society have often advocated that every human being is solely responsible for his or her behavior. The author in this novel challenges that. What made Carol's husband become homosexual? What part did his behavior eventually contribute to Carol's behavior? And how did Carol influence her sister, Christine? Who, indeed, was responsible for what?
Perhaps the most interesting facet of this narrative is Christine's desire for self destruction. The foreboding feeling of "impending disaster" that follows her in the form of a "black cloud" represents her own certain knowledge of the approaching end. She makes no attempt to escape her destiny, and, in fact, actually seems to hasten its coming. This alone makes this a provocative novel with an important message for many of us.
-THE PUBLISHERS