"Diane, a gifted rebel from a suburban home, chafes against conformity. During a stint in prison she meets Alison, a teacher. Intellectually intrigued by each other, their relationship is initially confined by their roles as teacher and student. When Diane is freed from prison, her pursuit of Alison challenges the older woman's passivity. Played out against both women's resistance to the mistakes of their mothers, their encounter becomes a confrontation with the imperatives of desire. Taking the act of vanishing - by choice or circumstance - as its theme, this novel is an exploration of the expectations of ownership and dominance."--BOOK JACKET.