American psychiatrist Dick Diver and his wife Nicole are glamorous socialites, enjoying sparkling lives amidst a urry of decadent associates in dazzling 1920s France. But Dick has a weakness, Nicole has a secret, and the entrance of a youthful actress catalyses the unravelling of relationships and tarnishes life under the Riviera sun. Inspired by the darkness in the authors own life and marriage, Tender is the Night is at once a vivid imagining of a unique era, and a delicately crafted and poignant study of the selfishness that simmers within us all. ABOUT THE COVER A phrenological diagram masks an image of grace and sophistication, suggesting a deeper but perhaps misguided analysis of an innocent female mind.