Mr Field, a concert pianist travelling back from a performance in London, fractures his left wrist in a train crash. On a whim, he uses his compensation cheque to buy a house he has seen only in a newspaper, a replica of Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye built on a stretch of coast outside Cape Town. When he moves there with his wife Mim, the house - which Le Corbusier designed as 'a machine for living' - has a disturbing effect. Mim disappears without apology or explanation and Mr Field can barely summon the strength to search for her.