Barbara's Timeline of Events

Barbara organizes the telling of Sheba's story around a timeline of events. She marks each turning point of both her relationship with Sheba and Sheba's relationship with Steven using gold stars. The timeline tracks the narrative thread as the novel goes back and forth through the past and present.

St. George Comprehensive School

Both Barbara and Sheba are teachers at St. George during most of the action of the novel. The school acts as a holding ground for some of the most violent children in that area of London. Barbara and Sheba meet and become friends at St. George. Sheba also first meets Steven and begins her sexual relationship with him at the school.

Hampstead Heath

Sheba, against her own better judgment, meets Steven at the Heath. She claims that she went to explain to him that there would be no romance between them...