The morning Jane Cunningham arrived back in Scotland in the summer of 1997, she could hardly have been aware of the changes that had taken place in her five year absence. The pace of London life had seemed frenzied by comparison, making it hard to keep in touch. Had she been home more, she might have been better informed of how much her consistent approach to marital relations now differed to that of her closest friends. The embrace with which Kate greeted her on the platform of Waverley Station revealed nothing of the changes. As for Amanda and Claire, well, if Jane had the slightest notion of what they were doing that morning, she would have been hard pressed not to judge. Such were the inherent edicts of a Hebridean woman who, despite the glamour of her profession, could rarely forget the watchful eye of the Church. With thirty-six years lived in the service of its work ethic, eight of them in holy wedlock, Jane would never have condoned the actions of her friends. It was however, the morning after the most devastating day of her life, a day in which she had lost everything. The fragments that remained, Jane realised, could never be restored to the way things were, a way in which she could no longer hold any belief. At no other time was she more ready to accept the possibilities to emerge from her homecoming. Loved, honoured and obeyed by their uxorious husbands and partners, in ways that Jane had never experienced, it was as if her friends refused to adhere to the belief of Paradise Lost. Unashamed and unrepentant, they were returning to Eden as goddesses, serpent and fruit in hand, never to be banished. As best Jane could make out, while she and fellow feminists had been striving to achieve equality, Kate, Amanda and Claire, in redressing balance, were exceeding equality. Where sex was concerned, relationships were more about equitability than equality. Their objectification of men shocked Jane at first. Her friends flaunted the extent to which they nurtured the jealousy and humiliation of partners. Yet they were adored, not least by their subservient, feminised, cuckolded husbands. This was, for Jane, a most peculiar, surreal, wonderland but upon her introduction to aggression-release therapy, she finally began to accept her place amongst friends. As the reality took hold, Jane discovered a realm of servitors, principal lovers, even stud harems, all devoted unconditionally to the fulfilment of women coming first. The satisfying, orderly, polyandrous lives of her friends didn’t seem fair to Jane but gradually she perceived the natural leadership skills women possess and the absolute power of female sexuality. It was thanks to Amanda’s genius, Claire’s authority and Kate’s generous donation that Jane’s enduring longing and ultimate wish might yet be realised. With countless misplaced orgasms to be rediscovered, it was the sheer joy of being a woman of which Jane was to be reminded and men undoubtedly envied.