Set in New England and Northern Nigeria, this novel is an examination of the meaning of love and fidelity in the midst of a sexual revolution.
Christine is an attractive wife and mother who has been disfigured by facial cancer, losing her left jaw and a portion of her mouth. After her appearance is ravaged by the disease, her husband Dick’s ardour for her comes to an end.
“I just can’t do it anymore. I love her – I really do – but that part of our life is dead.”
It’s the 1970s – a time when old sexual standards are eroding and temptation beckons After an encounter with the wife of good friend, Dick flees to teach law in Northern Nigeria, but his dilemma rides long with him.
“I’ve got to see this through, to be a loving, caring husband and father. This is a nightmare that won’t end.”
What is fidelity under such circumstances? Should he be expected to forget sex for the remaining decades of his life and be faithful? Or betray his sense of honour, lie and take a secret mistress? Or be brutally honest in the pursuit of a normal life? In Nigeria, he meets a beautiful Englishwoman with her own secrets. But secrets have an inevitable way of coming to life and a price must be paid...
In Fidelity explores the meaning of trust and the nature of love.