Alice and Jasper find a derelict house in London that will house their commune. Together with their companions, they try to tidy it up, while at the same time their ideological and political discussions are in full swing. Rebellion, armed struggle, terrorism seem very attractive to this group of "amateur revolutionaries" with an urban background. However, as the game gets serious and human lives are put at risk, Alice will have to decide how far she is willing to go. And if, in the end, she really is a good terrorist…

Inspired by her own tenure in the Left, the political and economic climate of Thatcher's England, as well as the IRA's activity in the 1980s, Nobel laureate Doris Lessing creates a multifaceted, sharp, and subtly ironic novel about the boundaries between the personal and the political, commitment and extremism.

What they said about the book

“An outstanding novel, a work of powerful and meticulous realism, thoroughly contemporary... What set of circumstances will lead to a terrorist act? Lessing provides a convincing explanation.”

Marilynne Robinson, The Washington Post Book World

“One of the best novels I have read about the terrorist mentality and the inner life of a revolutionary group.”

Alison Lurie, The New York Review of Books