Books can be dangerous, and so can imagination. This is the story of Annice, who has too much of both. Annice is fascinated by a picture in an art gallery. Taken by surprise, she finds herself going in to the picture, and watching the lives of the people there. She doesn't realize the dangerat first. Not until it's too late. Annice finds herself sucked further and further into the world of the painting, until it becomes more real to her than real life. Like sleepwalking, like fantasy, she becomes part of other people's lives, until she no longer knows what is real and what isn't.Imagination, stories, and lies become so closely linked that Annice can't distinguish between them. She's told so many lies that she can no longer remember them all. Soon, she knows, she'll be found out. And all the while, inside the world of the painting, there is an alternative life, a beautifulgarden, and a tragedy waiting to happen.This novel is now being reissued in a smaller, mass-market paperback format.