Maugham writes about three very different people in English settings. Mrs. Albert Forrester is a writer. She is also a cold and selfish woman. When her way of life changes, Mrs. Forrester discovers the creative impulse for her next successful book. The round dozen is set in a seaside town. Maugham watches how a strange, quite man achieves his lifetime ambition. Jane is aplain, middle-aged woman. Her quite life changes when she meets apoor and handsome young man.