A veteran ward sister and nurse, Ivy Maude Gorwick survived years of bicycling to work in a blacked-out city beneath the flak-rattled night skies of World War Two. She now anticipates a respite from years of hard work and lonely widowhood as a resident of The Glebe Repose, a modish elderly care facility.

But things are not as they seem, and there are still battles to be won. Ivy fights for her convictions with dignity against bureaucrats and bunglers.

Barbara Parsons was born into a naval family in Portsmouth, England. After employment at The Bank for International Settlements in Berne, she joined the British Foreign Service and had postings in Cambodia, Vietnam, Bonn, and Morocco, among other places. Her last posting was in Bogota, Colombia, where much of this novel takes place. After settling in Manhattan, she contributed to Sierra Club Publications. Her lifelong interest in animal welfare led to her helping found Unitarian Universalists for the Ethical treatment of Animals. A chapter from Beulah Kettlehole appeared in Humerus Magazine. Ms. Parsons now lives in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada.

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