A Wonderful Piece of Work — Stephen Curtis

A fairly ordinary man re-encounters a fairly extraordinary woman whom he had previously known at university. Nigel Anderson is buying his mother a scarf in Liberty's store in Regent Street, London when he is chanced upon by Bea Williams, the wonderful piece of work of the title. His life is changed from that moment. Funny, sexy and sad by turns, the novel follows their relationship through to its dizzyingly swift conclusion.